


Fries before Guys

by ghostystarr



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Humor, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, More Cheesy Flirting, One Shot Collection, Romance, solangelo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-02-21 13:31:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2470007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostystarr/pseuds/ghostystarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Nico di Angelo has an unhealthy obsession with a McDonald’s.  Not for the food, but rather a particular worker. AU Solangelo.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Customer is Always Right

**Author's Note:**

> Shoot me. I can't stop writing these fics.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Nico gets his order taken.

America wasn't what Nico di Angelo had been expecting. The mental picture he had was of grandiose landscapes and cowboys and a gun store on every corner. However, what he got was far less than the Hollywood flashes of extravagance and patriotism. In fact, his very first American meal had been a crappy dinner from McDonald's.

It hadn't really been exciting. They had them in Italy, after all, but for some reason his new roommate, Jason, was adamant that Nico had an original 'All-American' burger. Nico had barely been in the country for twenty-four hours, or known his eccentric roommate for more than three, and he was already being whisked off campus and into town and into a red building with the telltale golden 'M' arching out front with a group of strange people.

Nico couldn't help but look around. He was in _America_. He was in a whole new _country._ So sue him if he was a little curious. In fact, he was too busy stewing over said curiosity to notice that it was his turn to order. "Yo, foreigner, you're up," Jason's friend said and urged him forward. Nico was pretty sure his name was P-something. Percival?  No, just Percy. That was it. He pushed Nico right up to the counter and spoke slowly with a lot of hand motions, as if talking to a toddler, "Order. Food. Here."

Percy's girlfriend, some blonde with a wicked right hook, as displayed by how she clonked him over the head, glared at him. "He speaks _English,_ you moron!"

"And he really doesn't like bodily contact!" Jason called helpfully from the drink station. Beside him, his other friend, Leo, had his head underneath the soda dispenser, no shits given, and snuck a mouthful of Mountain Dew.

At that point, Nico wondered if it had really been such a smart idea to study abroad.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really hoped he wouldn't be stuck with these people all year. He looked up at the worker behind the counter, who was biting his lower lip and trying very hard not to laugh. Nico blushed. This complete stranger probably thought he was an idiot. He glanced back up. This completely _attractive_ stranger.

Truthfully, the worker was too good-looking for the black polo shirt and visor that was enforced by the restaurant's management. His skin was a perfect tan, clear and with just the lightest dusting of freckles spreckled across his nose and cheeks. His eyes were a crystalline, sky blue, which were smiling along with those thin lips and blinding teeth. His hair stuck out messily over the visor in a carefree, almost windblown way. Nico suddenly couldn't find his voice.

The worker cleared his throat and put on a large grin. "Welcome to McDonald's!" he sang in a loud, deep voice. Nico's resolve began to crumble. "May I take your order?"

Nico blinked. "Er…"

The other boy's smile turned sheepish. "You really _do_ speak English, right?"

Nico's look of awe turned into a sharp scowl on a dime. "Of course I do!"

"Oh, good," he sighed, visibly relieved. "Because I can speak, like, two words of Spanish and I slept through high school French so… Anyways, yeah, are you ready to order?" The cheesy grin was back.

Nico didn't like how easily that smile affected him so he flashed his gaze up to menu above them. He ordered quickly and the other boy nodded and tapped the screen in front of him. Nico caught a glimpse of the silver name-tag stuck to his chest.

_will :)_

Apparently, someone had had fun labeling his.

The worker – Will – glanced back up. "Is that everything for today?"

Nico nodded and paid and Will handed him a receipt. Nico mumbled a, "Thanks," and hurried over to where his dumb roommate and his even dumber friends were standing.

"I'm so proud," Jason teased. "His first American meal."

Nico huffed, plugged his hands in his pockets, and leaned against the wall as they waited for their food. The others talked to him and Nico only half paid attention to what he said because the other half was stuck on the McDonald's employee as he helped another customer – a mother and her two young children. Will ducked down for a moment and pulled out a couple of small plastic-packaged bags. The kids nearly climbed up the counter in their rush to pick out a toy and Will only laughed when the mother apologized. "I've got a lot of siblings," he said, waving her off. "It's fine."

When their food was ready, Will handed him the tray personally, smiling a little bit more softly that he had with the other customers. "Have a good day," he said even softer and Nico could only gape into those pools of blue and nod mutely.

"Er… Yeah, you, too," he got out lamely, ducked his head, and immediately sat down in between Jason and Percy. He looked up at the counter occasionally only to – more often than not – find the other boy's stare already on him. Every time he was caught, Will quickly made it look like he was busy wiping the counter or counting cups or some other random thing. Nico hid a smile behind a fry.

And that was how his addiction to McDonald's started.

Granted, it helped that Jason and his friends seemed to have chosen the place as their unofficial 'hang out' zone and would spend hours at a time sitting at the same booth, talking and doing homework and causing mayhem in the playhouse attached to the building. Nico had become an honorary member in no time despite having nothing in common with the rest. He supposed they just wanted to make him feel welcome, and he was grateful for that.

The best days were when Will was working.

The second time Nico came into McDonald's Will had been looking down at the screen when Nico approached the counter. "Welcome to McDonald's. How may I help—?" He raised his gaze and broke off, staring widely at Nico as if he had three eyes. Then, he broke into a brilliant smile. "Hey!" he greeted warmly.

Nico, quite aware of Leo's curious stare on the back of his head, used all his willpower not to smile back. "Hello."

Will smiled at him for a few more awkward moments before he jumped slightly. "Oh, right! Sorry. You probably want to order." His shoulders rose a bit apologetically. "What can I get you?"

 _Your number, for starters,_ was Nico's go-to thought, but instead he just gave his order, identical to last time. That time, when the other boy handed him his change, their hands grazed ever so slightly and Nico almost spilled coins all over the floor. He retreated at once so that Leo could order, ignoring the smirk on Valdez's face as he went.

"Hey, Nico," Leo teased later on as they walked back to campus, "are you _McLovin' it?_ Or, should I say, _him?"_

"What?" Percy snorted.

"Oh, come on! Di Angelo, here, was _totally_ making goo-goo eyes at the blonde worker guy!" Leo batted his eyelashes at Nico, who envisioned wringing his hands around Leo's neck and _squeezing—_ but, instead resisted.  "Hey, maybe you should tell him you like his _hot buns."_

Scratch that.  Nico darted for him, yelling curses in Italian, but Leo just let out a whoop of laughter and ran like lightning.

The third time was just as awkward, and this time – thanks to Leo's loud mouth – his entire group of friends observed their interaction _very_ closely. Nico was blushing bright red the whole time and even Will seemed to be a bit nervous. He kept glancing back at Nico's friends and looking at his own appearance as if worried there was ketchup on him or something. But, no, Will looked as perfect as ever, and Nico resisted the urge to throw ice cubes at a laughing Leo and a perplexed Percy when he sat down.

"He goes to our school, you know," Annabeth told him. "I think he's a junior. He's in my anatomy class."

Great, now he was cute _and_ smart. Nico just groaned and dropped his forehead to the table. Annabeth patted his arm while Jason stole a fry.

The seventh time was when, finally, there was some actual interaction between them. It was just Nico and Piper. The others were meeting up with them later on. Nico felt much more relaxed without Leo making kissy sounds as they walked in or Jason practically chaperoning Nico to the counter in order to watch their interaction with a warning in his stance or Percy asking horrifyingly loud questions. _"Wait. So… Oh, is THAT him?  That's the guy?"_ Annabeth tried to help, but Nico could hear her detailed explanations clearly from the front of the restaurant.

But, now, none of them were here. The restaurant seemed a lot bigger and quieter. Piper ordered a salad and gave him a quick smile before going to sit down by the window. She didn't look back up, and Nico breathed a sigh of relief. He shyly approached the register.

Will smiled easily and leaned his elbows against the counter. His hair fell in front of his eyes a bit. "Got a small crowd today, huh?" he said. "Where are the rest of your friends?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "They're all idiots."

Will laughed. Nico's chest tightened up. "Yanno, I've seen you in here a lot. I know Annabeth and Leo from class. But I don't know your name."

"Nico," he said a bit too quickly. "Nico di Angelo."

"Di Angelo," Will repeated. "Wow. That's actually a pretty cool name." Nico felt a rush of nerves render his vocal chords useless. "My name's Will."

The corners of Nico's mouth twitched. "I know."

"What?" Will blinked before lightly slapping himself on the head. "Right, duh, name-tag." He grinned cheekily. "I got to print the label out myself."

Well, that explained the smiley face.

"Congratulations."

The laugh Will gave him was well worth having to endure hearing Leo make kissy noises all week long. Will pushed himself upright and prepped his pointer finger at the screen. "So, Nico di Angelo, getting your regular?"

Nico cracked a smile. "Paying attention to what I order, are you?"

Will snorted. "You get the same thing every time."

Nico raised an eyebrow. They shared a look and then Will tapped a few buttons on the screen. Nico laughed. They made small talk until his food was ready. Will handed him his tray, letting their fingers brush, and winked. "Enjoy, Nico."

Nico smiled back. "See you later, Will." He confidently walked away and sat down. "Not one word about this to the others," he grumbled as she beamed at him. "I mean it." He made her promise and ate triumphantly. It tasted better than usual.

About a week after that, midterms struck. Nico found himself swamped with too much work with not enough time to do it all. American universities were considerably more difficult than he was used to. "Dammit," he murmured as his stomach growled.

He needed a break.

He really hadn't thought about it until he was suddenly there, walking through the glass doors and hearing the static-filled radio music. Somehow, his legs had carried him to the fast-food restaurant before his mind caught up with him. Even stranger, he felt immediately better when he saw a mop of blonde hair standing behind the counter, looking bored. The restaurant was dead; not a single customer in sight.

Will's eyes turned to the door and, Nico was pleased to see, he brightened up immensely. He straightened up, a dorky smile on his face, and put his hands on his hips. "Just can't stay away, can you?" he teased when Nico walked up.

Nico rolled his eyes. "It's not my fault you secretly lace your food with narcotics."

Will chuckled. "The food here is definitely _not_ worth the health hazard," he said with a grimace. "I can barely stomach it anymore."

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Should you be saying that to a customer?"

Will grinned. "Ah, but you're not just a normal customer, though."

His heart might have just stopped. "Then, uh, what am I?"

That freaking smile. He just gave a coy shrug and a wink. "Getting the regular again?"

Oh, god, his heart seriously might being going into cardiac arrest. And not from fatty foods. Nico managed a smile. "You know me so well."

Will snorted and the rest was routine. He tapped on the screen. Nico handed him some cash. Their hands touched as Will returned the change – though this time the amount of contact was a bit unnecessary but totally welcome. "So, you're lone-wolfing it tonight, huh?" Will asked.

Nico sighed. "Yeah. I needed a break from studying. I was going crazy just sitting in my dorm."

"I hear ya. Midterms have got me pretty swamped, too. But just standing here is even worse."

"Do you get a break?" Nico asked. _What am I doing?_

Will raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. Why?"

He shrugged. "Well, by the time I walk back to my dorm my food'll be cold. So I'm just gonna eat here."

Will picked up on his drift immediately. "Well, I couldn't let you eat alone."

And that was how Nico had managed to get Will to eat dinner with him in the empty McDonald's. He had a few more minutes before he could take his break, and told him to go sit down and he'd join in a moment. Nico took a seat at the usual place his friends ate at and waited, playing with the straw simply for something to do.

Will returned a few moments later with a salad and a water bottle in hand. Nico happily eyed his legs as he approached. He'd only ever seen the other boy behind a counter and, whoa, those were some seriously skinny jeans. Not that Nico was complaining. He sat across from Nico with a sigh. "Thank God!" he groaned. "Work sucks!"

Nico just scoffed. "A salad? Really?"

"What?" Will huffed. "I told you. I can't stomach the burgers here. I've seen things, Nico. Horrible things."

"I'd like to stay ignorant, please."

Will chuckled. "I don't have a problem with _other_ people endangering their bodies."

Nico rolled his eyes. "I'm not _endangering my body!"_

"Dude, you eat here, like, once a week. That _can't_ be healthy."

"And what makes you an expert?"

"I'm a pre-med student," Will said simply.

Nico frowned. "So, why's a pre-med student working at a fast-food restaurant?"

Will shrugged. "It's close." He took a sip of his water. "All right. So what about you? What's your major?"

"Forensics," Nico answered.

"What kind?"

"Ah, well, bone analysis, mostly." He shrank in on himself. He was used to people telling him his major was creepy.

"So, you wanna work for the police and all that?"

Nico nodded.

"That's so cool!" Will lit up. "I have to look at bones every day in my anatomy class, and, boy!" He whistled. "Good luck!"

Nico relaxed. "Thanks," he said dryly.

"Oh, and, I've been meaning to ask, but where are you from exactly?"

"Italy. I was born in Venice."

"I figured from the accent it was something like that but, ugh, I'm so jealous. Venice just sounds so much fancier than Manhattan. Anyways, you've seen a lot of the city yet?"

Nico nodded. "My roommate has been pretty adamant on that, yeah."

"And does Mr. Di Angelo from Venice like what he sees?"

Nico had just enough courage to smirk, never looking away from Will's face. "Yes. He does."

A light blush colored those tan cheeks and Nico awarded himself with a fry.

They talked about anything and everything. Nico couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed himself so much. Nico lost track of time, too caught up in some story Will was telling him about his family, until a sudden thought struck him. "Crap! What time is it? Don't you have to get back to work?"

Will's eyes widened. "Crap!" He shot up. "I gotta go!" He took half a step then stopped and turned back. "Uh, I really liked talking to you. Um." Was he really blushing? "We should do it again. Soon."

Internally, Nico was screaming and doing a victory dance. Outwardly, he just smiled. "Yeah. Definitely."

Will's smile turned nervous. "But not at McDonald's."

The mental screaming stopped. Nico froze. "Wait…" He locked eyes with him. "Are you asking me out?"

Will raised his shoulders and shrunk back a bit, looking adorably nervous. "Yeah?"

Nico tried to play it cool. He really did. But the giddy smile ruined the effect. "Well, you could've asked for my number first."

Will visibly relaxed and suddenly everything was different but better. "So is that a yes?"

A bubble of laughter escaped him. He quickly silenced it and began to fish around in his overstuffed pockets for a pen. He grabbed a napkin and scribbled his cell number on it before handing it over to Will. "Do you work Saturday?"

Will took it as if it was a holy offering. "I'm off."

"Good." Nico stood. "Because I found this really good Italian place nearby. It's genuine."

Will held up his empty hand. "Wait. Am I asking you out and are _you_ asking _me_ out?"

Nico thought for a moment. "Both?"

Will blinked. "Both works."

"SOLACE!" an angry voice shouted from the back.

"Crap!" Will jumped. "I'M COMING!" He turned back to Nico. "Sorry. Duty calls."

"I get it." He shrugged on his jacket. "I should be going anyways. Midterms tomorrow."

Will nodded. "So… I'll text you?"

"You'd better."

Will beamed and sent him another wink before wishing him a goodnight. Nico said a soft goodbye and watched as he disappeared behind the counter, no doubt getting yelled at by his boss.

He managed to contain himself as he left the restaurant but, as soon as the doors closed behind him, he pumped both fists in the air and made an excited noise that he would never, ever let another person hear.

America hadn't been what Nico was expecting at all. It was even better.


	2. Dates and Departures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there are dates and,you guessed it, departures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The masses have spoken, and I have no self-control. So, here's a part two. Really, thank you all for all the Solangelo McLovin'!

Nico's friends were jerks.

He didn't dare tell them about his date with the McDonald's employee in fear of their reactions. Most likely, said reactions would consist of rushing to the restaurant and embarrassing Will to the point that he wouldn't even want to deal with Nico any more. And Nico wasn't going to let that happen.

If anyone was going to screw up things between them it was going to be _him,_ dammit.

Unfortunately for him, he had a habit of misplacing his cellphone in random places. One such place was on his desk, buried under several loose, probably-important papers. Nico was sitting on his bed, studying, while Leo occupied the chair in front of his desk, balancing on the back two legs. Jason and he were talking animatedly about some TV show that Nico had no idea about. " _I'm telling you, man. I still don't trust that priest Gabriel guy. Something isn't right!"_ He ignored them entirely until he heard his text tone. Immediately, he snapped his attention up to his desk, but Leo was already eyeing the phone with mal-intent. He smiled dangerously at Nico and reached his hand out.

"Don't do it," Nico hissed. "Just don't."

It happened all in a flash. Leo lunged for the phone, Nico lunged at him with his hands outstretched in a choking motion, and Jason lunged to step in between them. "Why can't I see it, huh?" Leo taunted, tapping his phone awake. "Is it a dirty text? Oh, you naughty boy."

"Shut up, Valdez! It's not like that at all! It's just…!" Embarrassing. If it was from Will then it would be embarrassing.

"I always knew you Italians are big on the romance stuff but— "

Jason snorted. "Leo, I'm pretty sure Nico shatters all of the Italian stereotypes."

" _Both_ of you shut up! And give me my phone!"

Nico reached out quickly, fingers grazing the smooth, glass screen and inadvertently waking it up. He felt the blood rushing into his cheeks as both Leo and Jason read the text showing.

**_Hey! I get off at 6 so wanna meet at the library at like 7? Then u can show me that Italian place ur so proud of. ;) PS – I think I met someone that eats McD's more than u. Explain later._ **

Leo and Jason turned to look at him. " _Explain_ _now,_ " his roommate said with an amused grin.

"Is this the McDonald's guy?" Leo laughed. "You have a _date_ with McLovin' It?"

"Call him that again and see what happens," Nico growled. "I don't have to explain anything to you two."

"What did _I_ do?" Jason whined.

Nico snatched the phone out of Leo's open hand while the other boy nearly cried with laughter. He typed a quick reply, holding the phone out of Leo's intrusive line of sight.

…

At six-forty-five, Nico was already at the library. He wasn't one to be early to things, but somehow he just ended up there. He took a seat in a comfy armchair overlooking the entrance and hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt. He fidgeted several times, trying to find a nonchalant posture.

He rarely came to the library since words just seem to float right off the pages, but the café inside made it worth the headache. Maybe, if things went well tonight, he'd see if Will would want to meet up there next. He shook himself. No. Focus on date number one before date number two.

He reread his messages and played a few rounds of _The Tower_ on his phone while he waited; getting more and more anxious the longer he sat. He checked the time. It was fifteen after seven. How late did someone have to be for it to be unacceptable? Should he text him? He was so awful at this. He really had no idea what was considered 'proper'.

He scratched his cheek and looked around, beginning to lose hope. He hadn't just been stood up, had he? He'd go straight to that McDonald's and kick Will's lanky ass.

A sudden buzz alerted him to a text. He nearly jumped right off the chair in his rush to view it.

**_Hey, I'm here. :-P_ **

Nico glared at his screen and craned his neck to look near the entrance. The library was pretty empty today and Will was nowhere in sight. He frowned.

**_Same. Where are you?_ **

He heard a little bell-tone behind him and turned around on a hunch. There was a chair sitting behind his, facing the opposite direction, and Will was sitting in it. Nico let out a relieved sigh and tapped him on the shoulder. Immediately, Will jolted and spun around. "Oh!" Will grinned, placing a hand on his chest. "Hey."

"Hey. How long have you been here?"

Will shrugged. "Like… twenty-five minutes? You?"

Nico sighed. "Same."

"So we seriously sat here for nearly a half-hour waiting. Both of us."

"Yep."

Will snorted. "Well, this date is off to a great start."

Nico tried not to look too excited that Will had actually called this a _date._ He just stood, shoved his hands in his pockets, and nodded in the direction of the door. "Well, let's see if the rest of it works out."

Will smiled wide and copied him. "Lead the way."

The walk was short, but they never fell into an awkward silence. It was easy to carry on a conversation with Will. He seemed to be genuinely interested in just about everything and wasn't shy to list his own hobbies and likes. Nico learned that Will was twenty-one, had wanted to be a doctor for even longer than he could remember, and that, even though he wasn't very good, he liked to play the guitar. Nico offered up a bit about himself, and Will seemed to soak up each word as they went.

"How did you know, by the way?" Nico asked, choosing his words carefully. He stared at the sidewalk while Will gave him a perplexed look.

"Know what?"

"You know that I… That I prefer…" He waved his hands around uselessly. "That I'm…"

Will raised an eyebrow. "Gay?"

Nico sighed. "That."

Will chuckled. "Your friends kind of made it painfully obvious, I'm afraid."

Nico gritted his teeth. "I'm gonna kill them. And here I thought you were oblivious."

"Nah, I thought it was cute. In case you didn't notice, I thought you were so cute that I almost dropped some lady's milkshake all over the place. Oh, is this the place?" Will pointed to a small Italian restaurant ahead and Nico nodded, mute, as he processed the new information.

Will quickly jogged two steps ahead to open the door for Nico, who faltered for a moment before walking in with a smile hidden to himself. He returned the favor at the second set of doors and snorted when Will put a hand over his heart and pretended to look touched.

They were seated quickly at a nice table near the back. The restaurant was lowly lit and the candle in the center was a bit too romantic for Nico's tastes. As he sat down, he wondered if coming here was cliché and predictable. Weren't first dates supposed to be zany, exciting?

His worries were immediately put to rest when Will smiled at him from across the table, taking the offered menu with a quick 'thanks' at the waitress. "Okay. You've been here before, right?" Will opened his menu. "What's good?"

"Everything."

"Okay… what's the _best?"_

Nico pretended to think hard. "Everything."

Will gave him a look that was far too skeptical.

Nico shrugged and opened his own menu. "I guarantee everything here is better than what you sell."

Will raised his eyebrows and nodded. "Very true. But, uh, man, I can barely read any of this stuff. It's all in Italian!"

"Need me to draw a picture?" Nico asked. He meant it as a joke, but when Will lit up and nodded he found himself using a crayon to doodle crudely drawn pasta. "Right, so, castellane looks like this and torchietti looks like that."

"Okay…" Will observed the awful drawings for a few moments before nodding. He sat up and gave Nico a shy smile. "Order for me?"

Nico dropped his head and laughed. "Yeah. Fine."

After they'd relayed their orders to the waitress, who was overjoyed that Nico could speak Italian, and Nico and she finished their quick conversation in the foreign language, she winked at Will and said, "You've got a good boyfriend. Hold onto him tight and never let him go, you hear?"

Will, who had unfortunately been sipping on his Coke, choked and almost spewed soda everywhere. He looked at Nico quickly before turning bright pink and shaking his head at her. "W-we-we're not… I-I mean…!" Nico was just as embarrassed, but the alarmed look on Will's red face was too amusing. The waitress just winked at them again and left. Nico laughed as Will hid his face behind his hand with a wry smile. "That was embarrassing," he muttered.

"Very."

"Okay, let's change the subject, please. Um… okay, so, why America?" Will asked quickly.

Nico shrugged. "Everyone wants to come to America."

Will twisted his mouth in thought. "Really?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean it's just so diverse here."

"We really don't have anything that different from the rest of the world."

"Untrue. You don't see very many McDonald's where I'm from, and even then none of them are like yours."

Will rolled his eyes. "That's a good thing, yanno."

"You've also got, like, Hollywood and NASA."

"Don't forget spirit-crushing capitalism."

"Crappy cars."

"Fortune cookies. They're from New York, you know."

"Cowboys," Nico added, unintentionally looking Will dead in the eyes as he said it. A little blush skirted up Will's face and Nico held up his hands quickly. "I-I, uh, didn't mean that in, like, a dirty way!"

Will smiled and said, in a very soft voice, "I'll keep that in mind."

Nico flushed. Will just kept smiling and sipped his Coke again.

The rest of dinner went off without a hitch. Will slurped up his pasta with little tact but Nico found it endearing. While they ate, Will kept asking him how to say some things in Italian.

"What's 'drink'?"

" _Bevanda."_

"Bavandah. Okay, what about 'food'?"

_"Cibo."_

"Cheeboh. Got it."

Nico didn't correct his pronunciation errors. Will looked far too proud of himself when he asked the waitress for another 'bavandah'. The waitress smiled, gave Nico a sympathetic look, and said she'd be right back.

When it came to the check, both boys reached for it. Will watched him sternly, not letting go. "I've got it."

"No, I brought you here, after all, so I should pay."

"You've spent enough money on fast food this semester. Seriously. My treat."

"I can spend my money however I want." Nico pulled the bill closer to him. "You get the next one."

Will's eyes widened, his grip slackened, and Nico took the opportunity to snatch away the bill completely. When he finished signing for it, Will was smiling at him. "So… there's gonna be a next one?"

Nico's eyes darted to the floor for a moment before flashing back. "Yeah. I mean… if you'd like that."

Will absolutely beamed. "Definitely," he let out in a rush of relieved air.

The walk back was cold and they used that as an excuse to huddle close together. Nico kept his bare hands stuffed in his pockets, mentally wishing he'd played it smart like Will and brought gloves. "Here!" Will said, slipping off one of them and handing it to Nico. "Put this on."

Nico frowned, but did as he was told. "But now your hand is going to be cold."

"Easy fix," Will said and reached over to grab Nico's still-bare hand with his. "There. See?"

Nico smiled. "Clever boy."

Will gave him a cheesy grin.

He was pretty adamant about walking Nico back to his dorm, to which Nico didn't really have any complaints. They didn't talk much, but it wasn't awkward. It almost felt like they'd done this a thousand times already, had known each other much longer. They held hands right up until Nico had to fish out his card to unlock this dorm hallway. When they reached Nico's room, they stopped and the awkwardness quickly caught up to them.

"So, uh… I had a really great time," Will managed.

"Y-yeah. Me too."

Silence.

"I'll text you!" Will blurted out and winced at the sound of his own voice. "I-I mean…" He cleared his throat and, when he spoke again it was in a fake, deep voice and somewhat of a Southern accent, "I'll see you around, cowboy."

Nico wasn't sure whether to feel embarrassed, excited, or amused so he settled on shoving Will lightly on the shoulder and laughing. Will took a step closer, breathing an airy laugh, and Nico didn't realize how close together they were until he could feel Will's breath hitting his cheek. Nico's eyes flashed down to his lips and back up, gulping.

"So…" Will started. "How do you say 'kiss me' in Italian?"

 _"Baciami,"_ Nico answered immediately. His heart was hammering so loudly in his chest he wondered if Will could hear it.

Will just smiled and leaned in to place a quick chaste kiss on Nico's cheek. "Night, Nico," he whispered.

Nico's hand flew up to hold his own cheek, eyes wide. "Yeah. Bye, Will."

They shared a smile and Nico watched him go. Once Will was out of sight, he unlocked his dorm room door and opened it. The door hit something hard and Nico heard several heavy objects slump over along with groans of pain.

Confused, Nico poked his head in and immediately his mood soured.

Jason, Leo, and Percy were lying on the ground. Jason was holding his chin. Percy was rubbing his head. Leo was moaning and had both hands clamped around his nose. Behind them, Annabeth and Piper were sniggering behind their hands.

"So…" Annabeth chimed. "Date went well, we see."

Nico closed the door again and wondered if it was worth ever coming back.

…

Eventually, his friends got over Nico's thing with the McDonald's employee – but not without first humiliating them both in every plausible situation. Even through all that, Will continued to ask him out.

It was on their third date that Will grabbed his wrist, preventing him from going into his dorm, and pulled him down a little bit. "Sorry, I just didn't want your friends to spy on this," he muttered and, before Nico could ask what he meant by 'this', swooped down to kiss him.

They did the classic stuff – like going to other restaurants and to the movies and had coffee – but they also went on less conventional dates. They went on random shopping sprees throughout New York City, tracked down really strange places and tried them out, and they slipped into a group touring the city. Will dragged him to medical lectures at the university and Nico made Will bring him McDonald's while he was studying. Once, Will even dragged Nico to McDonald's afterhours so they could goof around at the playground. Nico had been expecting some romance, but instead the night had pretty much consisted of him chasing a hysterically-laughing Will through the plastic tunnels.

Luckily, Will lived in a little apartment off-campus so they never had to worry about not getting enough time alone. Nico was pretty sure Will had the comfiest couch in all of New York.

"If you think that's comfy you should try my bed," Will said while waggling his eyebrows in such a ridiculous manner that Nico didn't feel bad about chucking a pillow at him.

When December hit, and Nico found himself staring at final exam study guides, the dread began to settle in. He only had two more weeks left in America. Sure, he sort of missed his family and friends back home, but he was going to miss Jason and Piper and Annabeth and Percy and – God – he was even going to miss Leo's crappy attempts at humor.

And Will.

They hadn't really said anything about Nico's inevitable departure. Nico couldn't find the courage to say the words and he was pretty sure Will felt the same. They were enjoying their time together. They didn't want to ruin what time they had left by fretting over the end.

Yet, with less than fourteen days left in the same country as him, Nico couldn't ignore it any longer.

Unfocused and stressed, Nico abandoned studying for his finals and grabbed his wallet and keys. "Be back later," he said to Jason, who was collapsed over a large mound of open text books. His glasses were askew and he looked as if he was in pain as he clutched several index cards. He grunted in response and Nico left, mood matching the murky grey sky as he walked mechanically.

A bit of snow began to drift down, dusting the frozen ground in white. It was pretty to watch, but Nico missed feeling the warmth of the sun hitting his face, missed the secure feeling he got from back in September when he still had months to waste time quoting movie quotes with Will. By the time he reached the McDonald's, he was miserable.

Will was working his Tuesday shift, standing behind the counter with a cheerful smile on his face as he handed a girl her change. The smile faded when he saw Nico's stony face as he approached. "Hey, babe. What's wrong?"

Nico pretended not to notice the way the girl's eyes bugged out when she overhead Will calling him 'babe'. He also pretended not to notice that Will called him 'babe' at all. Instead, he slumped against the counter and sighed. "I don't want to go."

There was a brief moment of silence then he heard Will give a sigh. "I go on break in ten minutes. Go and wait for me?"

Nico nodded and took a seat at one of the empty booths at the back of the restaurant. A short while later, Will joined him, holding an envelope. "I was gonna wait until after finals to tell you, but… well… Here." He handed him the envelope.

Nico raised an eyebrow and took it. It was addressed to Will, from the university. He extracted the letter inside and began to read aloud. "Dear Mr. William Solace, we are happy to announce that you have been accepted into the study abroad program next fall at…" he trailed off, eyes widening as the words' meanings slowly took root. "W-Will… it says here you're going to VIU."

Will's smile could power a sixty-watt light bulb. "Sure does!"

"As in Venice International University. In Venice. Italy, Venice."

"Yup!"

Nico wasn't sure what the feeling was in his chest, but it was warm and light and overwhelming. "Why does it say you're going to VIU next fall?"

Will chuckled. "That should be obvious, but I'll bite. I have a little extra money to splurge on. I was gonna use it to get a nice car but I figured – hey—why don't I spend my senior year in Italy instead?"

"B-b-but…" Nico looked at the letter and back to Will repeatedly.

Will took his hand. "Are you saying you don't want me to go?"

"No!" Nico blurted quickly. "I… I just… You haven't known me that long! Why would you come to Italy for someone you barely know?"

Will squeezed his hand. "I _do_ know you, Nico. I know we haven't known each other for very long but… but this feels _right,_ Nico. I don't want it to end." He gulped, looking nervous. "Do you?"

"I…" He sighed. "No, I don't want it to end either. I'm just… surprised." He put on a smile. "So… you're actually going to spend a full year in Venice?"

"Yup!" Will lit up and lifted their connected hands to kiss Nico's knuckles. "You can show me the highlights of your country. If you're willing to wait for me."

"Idiot," Nico said fondly. "Of course I will."

…

Saying goodbye was harder than he thought. Jason had to practically pry Leo off of him at the airport. Piper and Annabeth hugged him tightly. Percy made him swear to keep his promise and Oovoo them all regularly. "It's not goodbye," Jason told him. "We're totally gonna visit you for spring break next year. We can crash at your villa, right?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure my father would _love_ to have a bunch of strange American college students sleeping on his floor."

"Awesome!" Jason grinned, the sarcasm flying over his head.

Will walked him as far as security would let him go, holding his hand in a vice-like grip the whole time. "It's just until August," Will kept saying, almost to himself. "Eight months."

"It'll go fast," Nico tried to assure him, but he was barely able to look him in the eye. Eight months sounded like an eternity.

"I'll Skype you," Will promised. "And I'll send you emails and I'll write you actual letters and send you stuff and tag you in Facebook posts and—"

"Will!" Nico cut across him. "I get it."

"Right."

Nico couldn't trust himself to say the actual words so he grabbed either side of Will's collar and pulled him into a kiss until the security guards cleared their throats. He pulled away and, while Will was still dazed, slunk backwards in the direction of the terminal, holding Will's hand until the very last possible moment.

As soon as his plane took off from the American ground, Nico wondered if that warm, light feeling in his chest was love.

...

_Eight Months Later_

_..._

Nico bounced excitedly on his toes, neck craned at a painful angle in an attempt to see over the thick crowd of tourists buzzing through the airport. He kept his phone clutched to his heart, periodically switching between glancing at the screen and the sea of people.

**_Walking out now! Love u!_ **

Eight months. He had waited eight months for this moment. He had spent eight months stalking his inbox, loving and hating Skype, and daydreaming of a bright smile. It had been tough. They had fought. They had cried. They had nearly come undone and lost it all, but, somehow, they had persevered and Nico was finally standing in the airport on a hot August day, searching desperately for head of thick blonde hair and tan skin.

His phone buzzed and he looked at it like a starving man staring at a morsel of food.

**_Look left! :)_ **

Nico immediately spun around to his left, heart pounding. He frowned as he didn't recognize anyone. His phone went off again.

**_Oops. Other left. :P_ **

Nico rolled his eyes before swiveling to his right and his heart leapt up into his throat. Standing a few feet away, suitcases all around his feet, stood Will Solace, looking as wonderful as he had last fall. No, he looked even better. And he was standing _there_ in _Italy_ where he would stay for a full _year._

At once, he barreled himself into Will's waiting arms, wrapping his own around Will's neck with no intention of letting go. Will chuckled and it sounded _so_ much better when Nico could feel it reverberate against his chest and not through a crackling speaker.

Will held him tight, nuzzling his hair with a happy sigh. "Hi."

Nico half laughed and half choked. "Hey."

"I missed you."

"Me too. But you're here now so…"

Will hugged him even tighter. "That's right. Did you shrink?"

Nico hit his arm, but kept his hand there, noting the growth of muscle there. "Idiot. You just got taller."

Will just hummed and went back to hugging him, uncaring of the attention they may have gotten. Nico just clung onto him and mumbled a few things in Italian he wasn't quite ready to say in English just yet. The crowd parted around them, but he didn't even notice. Nothing really mattered as long as he could feel Will's heart beating against his.

Nico wasn't sure what they would do in a year, when they had to separate again, but they had time to figure it all out. For now, he had a city to show off and sights to see and a life to live.

However, their first meal together in Italy was at a very over-priced McDonald's.


	3. How to Say, "I Love You"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn’t going to continue this. I wasn’t. But… then Ed Sheeran’s “All of the Stars” came on and THIS happened… so I might as well post it. It takes place during the eight months they were apart, so it gets a little angsty but, eh. It’s happy at the end!

_Here comes the sun, do-do-do doo_

_Here comes the sun, and I say…_

_It’s all right._

A hand slid out of the mountain of covers and blindly fumbled with the screen of a cellphone for a few moments before succeeding in turning off the alarm. A couple of drawn-out minutes later, the rest of a boy emerged from the blanket-cocoon.

Will Solace yawned and stretched out, plopping back onto his bed after his neck gave a satisfying _pop._ Immediately, mechanically, his hand found his phone again. He unlocked it and looked in his inbox, smiling when he saw he had one unread email.

**_Morning. Don’t forget your chem notes._ **

Will checked the time. It was about seven o’clock, which meant it was one o’clock over there. He quickly typed back a reply.

**_Afternoon, babe! :) And psh u have no faith in me. Xoxo_ **

Dropping his phone back onto his bed, Will stood up and padded into the bathroom, stifling another yawn. He peered into the mirror, wincing at the foreign dark circles under his eyes. Usually, Will was always pretty well rested and rose with the sun even on weekends. He had just had a late night catching up on homework and his studies. It probably hadn’t helped that he’d spent most of his evening Skyping his boyfriend.

He showered quickly, humming along to whatever song came on the radio – even though he barely recognized any of them. By the time he got out and walked back into his bedroom with a towel tied loosely around his waist, he had another email.

**_Don’t come crying to me when you fail that class. Check your mailbox. And I mean your actual mailbox._ **

Flooding with excitement, Will rushed to get dressed. He couldn’t find a clean pair of jeans so he ended up shimmying into a pair that was on the floor. He almost tripped as he stepped into his shoes and thrust his arms into a thick jacket at the same time, grabbing a beanie off of the hook near his door. As he descended the stairs, he answered.

**_My mailbox, hm? Now what could be in there? It’s not a puppy… is it?! ;)_ **

He pushed open the main door, shivering as the February chill met him at full blast. He was not a winter person. At all. He couldn’t wait until he could go back to shorts and t-shirts, and didn’t have to bundle up until he could only waddle like a penguin across the lot to where the mailboxes were kept. He didn’t know whose bright idea it was to build the mailboxes _outside_. Teeth chattering, he unlocked his and was surprised to see a small package inside. The strange red, white, and blue stamping around the edges and excessive labels gave away its foreign origins. Smiling, Will snatched it up and held it close to his chest the entire way back up to his apartment.

When he was halfway up the stairs, his phone buzzed.

**_It’s not an animal, you dolt. Don’t miss your class._ **

**_I won’t, I won’t! But first I wanna c what’s in this package!!_ **

He carefully tore off the paper, trying not to rip the neat handwriting scrawled along the top, and slid it off, revealing another thick envelope. He quickly opened it with less patience than he had with the first layer, and dumped the contents onto his coffee table. The first thing that caught his eye was a folded up piece of notebook paper. He lifted it and began to read.

_Will,_

_I took a lot of photos while I was in New York and well… I made some doubles of a few I thought you’d like. Wipe that grin off your face and don’t even think about calling me sentimental. I just, uh… Okay, I know it’s only been two months and we have a lot of waiting to do but… I miss you. So yeah._

_Shut up,  
Nico_

Will’s thumb traced over the cursive writing with a distant, fond smile.

It had been two months since Nico di Angelo left the United States, two months since they said goodbye in a crowded airport, and two months since Will had been accepted to VIU.

Will wasn’t entirely sure what drew him to the Italian student. When he had first walked into McDonald’s with his entourage of loud friends, it was all he could do to not spill some woman’s milkshake all over her shirt. His entire presence had just captivated him. The way his eyes seemed to bore right down to Will’s very core, the way he talked with his hands, and the way his smile could put a halt on time itself… and when he had first talked to Will that had been it. The accent had almost killed him.

When Nico kept coming _back,_ Will wasn’t sure what to do. He didn’t know anything about the exchange student, especially how he would respond to another guy flirting with him. When Leo Valdez started tailing Nico through the restaurant quoting butchered lines from _Romeo and Juliet_ and making kissy noises, however, it started to get clear as to why Nico’s gaze always seemed to drift back to him.

When they finally got around to dating, there were really no words to describe the triumph he felt. After their first date at an Italian restaurant, and Will managed to sneak a kiss onto Nico’s cheek, he fled like a distraught mother duck, heart racing and face flaring. It was dumb how one guy could reduce Will to acting like a schoolboy who had his first crush, but Nico did. He made him feel so stupid it hurt.

Will shook himself free of his thoughts in favor of studying the collection of photographs sprawled out across the table. He lifted one of them and immediately broke into a grin. It was of Nico and him at Times Square. Will had an arm around Nico’s shoulder, his free hand up in a peace-sign, and was beaming up at the camera. Nico was nearly stone-faced, but there was a gentle upward curve to his lips, which said all that Will needed to know.

The second one he saw was by far his favorite. It was a rather grainy picture of Nico trying to hide a smile behind his straw. It was such a familiar sight that it made Will’s heart ached. Without thinking, he raised his phone and sent a very simple message.

**_I love you._ **

As soon as the message sent, realization set in. His eyes went wide and he felt a bit lightheaded. What had he just done? Neither of them had said that before, scared to take that plunge into deeper waters. But, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. Warmth spread through Will’s winter-chilled fingers. He _did_ love Nico so it shouldn’t be such a big deal to say so. Right?

Feeling a strange mixture of happiness and loneliness, Will slung his bag over his shoulder and rushed back outside to get to class, periodically refreshing his inbox whenever he had the chance. Nico didn’t respond. Will knew Nico had classes of his own, but he still couldn’t help the string of anxiety tightening in his gut.

“Phones away,” his professor snapped and Will jumped. He hadn’t realized the lecture had even started. He mumbled some sort of apology and shoved his phone into his bag, channeling his focus onto what his professor was saying.

By three o’clock, Will was finished with all his classes for the day, and there was still no response from Nico.

 _Busy,_ his optimistic brain interjected quickly. _He’s just busy._

Another voice, much more pessimistic, said, _Or he doesn’t feel the same way and you just scared him off._

Will shook himself. No, Nico was definitely busy.

At five o’clock, Will started his shift at McDonald’s. He was horribly distracted the entire night, checking his messages every other minute. He almost burnt himself on the fryer several times. One of his coworkers saved him from dipping his hand into the boiling grease while his attention was transfixed on his phone screen. He dropped some poor lady’s meal all over the floor and flushed, apologizing to anyone that would listen.

His boss made him take a break. “Clear your head,” she said.

Taking a break was quite possibly the worst thing he could have done. He sat, elbows propped on his knees, bent over, staring desperately at the little spinning circle as it synced for any new messages. There were none.

Around six, a familiar group walked in, laughing and boisterous. “Hi, Will!” Piper McLean called as she approached the counter. Will tried to manage a smile, but it came out more like a pained grimace. Piper frowned. “Jeez, what’s with you?”

Will sighed. “It’s nothing. Just tired. Uh, what can I get you guys?” As if he didn’t already know.

Piper got a salad and water, but she would come back up for a burger later. Jason got two cheeseburgers with shredded lettuce. Percy got a fish sandwich and fries. Annabeth went for a chicken sandwich with no tomatoes. Leo always ordered half the menu.

“Uh, dude?” Leo blinked when Will handed him his tray. “This isn’t what I ordered. Like at _all.”_

“Huh? Oh, sorry, Leo,” he muttered, shaking his head.

After he corrected Leo’s order, Piper eventually wandered back up for her burger. “Okay, so what’s up with you?”

“What?” Will asked, pausing in the act of tapping the screen in front of him. Piper just raised her eyebrow at him, and Will sighed. “Is it that obvious?”

“You’re usually the most smiley person on the planet. Right now you look like… well, you sort of look like Nico.” Will couldn’t help the wince that came with hearing that name. Piper understood in a second. “All right, so what’s happening with Nico?”

Will’s shoulders sagged. “I…” He looked over to where Jason and the rest were talking, oblivious. He sighed again. “I think I did something dumb.”

“Like?”

“Like…” He groaned and hid his face in his hand. “Okay, he sent me these pictures of us together and I got really sappy and happy and I told him I loved him. He hasn’t talked to me since.”

Piper’s eyebrows fell sympathetically. “When did you tell him that?”

“This morning. I mean, I know we don’t have to talk _every day_ and everything and our lives are pretty busy, but what if he just doesn’t feel the same and I screwed up?”

“Impossible,” Piper snorted. “Will, Nico’s crazy for you. He always was.”

Will flushed. “You’re just saying that. Besides, feelings can change. What if… what if we’re growing apart already?”

Piper rolled her eyes. “You don’t seriously think Nico came in here all those times for _Happy Meals_ , do you?” Her smile softened. “You probably just caught him off guard. Talk to him. I guarantee he won’t leave you in the dust.” She gave him a wink as if she knew something he didn’t, took her burger, and walked off.

At eight-thirty, Will was back at his apartment. He shed his thick jacket, gloves, hat, scarf, and snow boots with a frown. He hated winter.

He collapsed onto his bed with a dramatic groan, furrowing underneath the covers with no intention of crawling back out any time soon. Hidden underneath his quilt, the light of his phone screen seemed brighter than usual. His fingers moved across them as he spelt out a new message.

**_Hey. I know ur prob asleep by now but um… I’m sorry if I rushed anything. U don’t have to say anything back. Sorry._ **

He let the phone drop and buried his face in his pillow. He really didn’t expect his phone to buzz just a few minutes later. Immediately, he reached out and unlocked his phone in a heartbeat, feeling uncharacteristically nervous as he opened up his inbox. He could barely breathe when he saw that he had an unread message from Nico.

**_Merda. No. You’re fine. I was just surprised. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you worry. It’s just… no one’s ever said that to me before. I mean, my family has but that’s completely different. Crap, I really didn’t mean for you to worry. Sorry._ **

Will blew out a relieved breath. Nico didn’t hate him. He was just as nervous as Will was. And, though it smarted a little that he didn’t say it back, he could deal with that.

**_Well, I meant what I said. I love you, Nico. And I really can’t wait to c u again :)_ **

Feeling immensely better, he let his head plop down to his pillow and shut his eyes. He was exhausted. Even without the extra emotional stress that came with a long-distance relationship, between his studies and work, he was more often than not drained by the end of the day. He set an alarm for thirty minutes and decided to take a little nap before starting on his homework.

Just as he fell asleep, his phone lit up again with a new message that would be waiting for him when he woke up.

**_…Ti amo._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this might be a collection of one-shots now that all pertain to this AU? I dunno! What do you think?


	4. Thanksgiving in Venice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's that time of year again, and Nico tries to make Will feel at home by hosting a Thanksgiving dinner. Tries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, from here out, this is just a series of one-shots all in this AU. They’re going to be in a non-linear order, just so you know. I’ll always let you know where we’re at, though.
> 
> This one's set shortly after Will comes to Italy. :3
> 
> TBC.

_September_

Nico could feel Will’s eyes on him. As he led them through the bustling streets of Venice with his hand clamped tight around Will’s wrist, he could feel the burn of Will’s stare boring into the back of his head. He squeezed Will’s wrist as they ducked into a café in an attempt to escape the heavy rain.

“Does it do this a lot here?” Will asked grumpily as he shook his hair free of droplets.

“It’s not uncommon, I guess?” Nico shrugged and tried not to feel too disappointed that Will’s hand slipped out from his. He stuck his own in his pockets, definitely not pouting. It had been nearly a full two weeks since Will had come to Italy, and between their respective classes and extra-curricular activities, Nico hadn’t nearly gotten enough time alone with his boyfriend. He huffed and followed Will toward the counter, both annoyed and amused how the American was gaping at every inch of the place as if they were in a museum and not a simply café.

“What do I want?” Will asked, staring up at the menu blankly.

“How should I know?”

“You can speak fluent Italian! I only know the basics, man.” Will huffed. “What’s the closest thing to a hot chocolate?”

Nico frowned. “I guess that would be _cioccolata calda,_ but it might be different than what you’re used to.”

Will snorted. “I’m sure I can handle it! Uh, order for me, though?”

Nico was used to being the mediator between Will and the rest of the country. Will had been taking Italian for two semesters, but he wasn’t exactly confident in his abilities to step into a conversation alone just yet. Usually, it meant that whenever Will needed to go shopping or run errands he took Nico and clung to him. While Nico didn’t particularly mind the sunny blonde depending on him, he really wanted to do something other than sight-seeing and sharing their dates with the public eye.

He’d been in Will’s dorm a few times, but that was just to help the American move in or to pick him up. He really wanted to just put on a crappy movie and curl up on the couch, relax and just enjoy his boyfriend’s presence. But Will was dazzled by every aspect of Venice, from the towering architecture to the buzzing city life to the cracks in the roads.

Sighing, Nico ordered for the both of them and paid despite Will’s protests. A few minutes later, Nico brought two mugs over to where Will had sat down, looking out the window with a frown. He set one down in front of Will and sat across from him. “I thought it was supposed to be warm and sunny in Venice,” Will mumbled.

Nico rolled his eyes. “Weather changes here just like it does everywhere else. Now here.” He passed Will a spoon. “Try it.”

“What do I need a spoon for?”

“Like I said it might be a little different than what you’re used to.” Raising an eyebrow, Will did as he was told and scooped up a bit of whipped cream before popping the spoon into his mouth. Nico snorted. “Don’t just get the cream,” he said and took a spoonful of his own.

Will took a second bite and lit up. “Whoa, that’s good. But weird. Is it pudding?”

Nico shrugged. “It’s kind of in between being a drink and a dessert.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s amazing.”

They sat and talked until the rain cleared up a bit then made their way back to Will’s dorm on the opposite side of town. Nico was exhausted by the time they made it there. Will was a ball of energy. Anytime he seemed tired he would sit for a few minutes and then be back on his feet, renewed.

“So…” Will drawled as they approached his dorm room. “My roommate is on a tour all weekend.” He glanced at Nico with a smirk.

Nico caught his drift immediately. “Yeah?”

“Mmhm. Wanna come in for a little bit?”

A half-nervous, half-excited jolt ran through Nico but he nodded quickly. “That sounds… nice.”

Will grinned and pulled him in. It was exactly how Nico pictured it. They put on a random movie, snuggled up on Will’s bed, and Nico could hear the patter of the rain hitting the window. He sighed happily as Will’s arm pulled him closer. Even though he was more relaxed than he had been all day, his heart was pounding. He really hoped Will wouldn’t notice, but when he rested his head on the blonde’s chest he realized that they were in the same boat.

“I don’t know how you managed to be so cool and collected last year,” Will said with a yawn. Nico raised his head to look at him. “Yanno, in America. Didn’t you miss home?”

Nico shrugged. “I guess. I had a lot of distractions, I guess.”

“I’ll take credit for that.” Will kissed his hair.

Nico frowned. “Do _you_ miss home?” Will hadn’t even been here a month yet. Was he already getting bored of him?

Will hummed. “I miss certain things. Like I’m gonna miss out on Thanksgiving. I know you guys don’t celebrate it here but…” He yawned again. “It’s one of my favorite holidays.”

“You say that about every holiday,” Nico said, running a hand through Will’s hair as the other boy let his eyes shut sleepily. He hesitated before asking, “Would you… would you want to celebrate it here?” As a response, he heard a small snore. Will had fallen asleep, face tucked into the crook of Nico’s neck.

Nico sighed and patted his head awkwardly.

…

_November_

“Right, so, what exactly is Thanksgiving again?” Bianca asked as they entered the grocery store. She raised an eyebrow at the shopping list. “I mean I’ve heard of it but do we really need all this?”

Nico shrugged, grabbing a cart. “Don’t know. Last year I went to my roommate’s house for it and they said it was all about being grateful or whatever. They really just ate.”

“ _All_ of this?” Bianca gasped, shaking the list at his face.

Nico slapped it away. “Yeah, all of it.”

“A whole turkey, peas, potatoes, cranberries, celery, bread, butter, pie crust, pumpkins…” She shook her head. “That’s not even half the list. How are we going to carry all of this home?”

“Dad let us use his chauffer.”

“Jules-Albert? Oh, God. Why can’t you have your boyfriend help us? It’s his dumb holiday.”

“Because he hates when people make a fuss over him,” Nico muttered, glaring at two different cans of cranberries and their respective prices.

“But you’re going to do it anyways?”

“That’s right.” Nico tossed a can into the cart and sighed. “I want to surprise him. And we’re going to do all of the cooking from scratch!”

“Go big or go home, I guess. Is Dad going to be there?”

“I told him about it but I believe his exact words were, ‘I’ll see what I can do’.”

“So… no.”

“You’ll be there, though, right? I invited Hazel and Frank, too. Figured to get as much of the family together while I’m at it.”

Bianca grinned and leaned her elbows against the cart. “You’re enjoying this.”

Nico snorted. “Am not.”

“Are too! Look at you, you’re practically giddy!”

“Shut up!” Nico snapped, stomping off to find some peas.

Bianca followed him, laughing. “Aw, Nico! I’ll be there if it means that much to you!”

“It doesn’t!”

“It so does!”

He chose to ignore her. He focused on just getting everything on the list and what Will’s reaction would be when he sat down for a proper Thanksgiving meal.

…

“Hurry up,” Nico called into Will’s dorm, knocking on the door impatiently.

“Hold on! I’m coming!” Will’s voice drifted out. Nico heard a muffled crash from inside that was quickly followed by a groan. A few moments later, Will opened the door, muttering curses and rubbing his chin.

“What did you do?” Nico snorted, reaching up to pull Will’s chin in the light a bit.

“Tripped on my slippers,” he mumbled.

“Only you.” Nico pulled back, hands in pockets. “Are you ready to go?”

“Does this sweater look all right?” Will asked nervously, pulling on the hem to show off the thick, dark blue sweater he wore.

Nico’s eyes trailed up Will’s chest and arms appreciatively with a raised eyebrow. “Since when do you care how you look?”

“Since you invited me to have dinner with your family for the first time!” Will shouted, running a hand through his hair, which looked as though it had been gelled back. He gasped, fled to the mirror hanging above his dresser with a grimace, and started to carefully part his hair to one side again.

“Will, we’re just going to my house.”

“I have to make a good impression!”

“You’ve already met my family.”

“Yeah, but they’re _all_ gonna be there! Watching!”

Nico rolled his eyes at his boyfriend as he stepped over, dodging a pair of duck slippers, and pulled Will’s hand away from his hair. “You look fine,” he muttered and reached up to ruffle Will’s hair until it was back to its usual messy state. “You always do.”

Will smiled sheepishly, a pleased red tint on his cheeks. “Ah… well…”

Nico scoffed and rolled up to his tiptoes to push a quick kiss to Will’s red chin. “We need to go now or we’ll be late. I went to a lot of trouble for tonight and I’ll be damned if your hair is going to ruin it.”

Will chuckled, hands resting on his sides. “Yeah, just a second.”

Whatever complaint Nico had was stifled beneath Will’s lips and any resolve to get Will’s butt in gear was flushed out by a warm, tingly feeling. When Will eventually pulled away, looking smug, it took a few moments for Nico’s thoughts to drift back to him. “Satisfied?” he muttered.

Will grinned cheekily. “For now.”

Nico slapped him on the shoulder. “ _Idiota.”_

“Oh, I love it when you insult me in Italian,” Will said sarcastically as he rubbed his shoulder.

“Just get your coat.”

Will saluted him, grabbed it off the hook, and they were off. When they made it outside, Will put his hands in his pockets and somehow, habitually, Nico’s hand wound around Will’s elbow as they walked. “Is your dad gonna be there the whole time?” Will asked and Nico could hear the anxiety in his voice.

Nico shrugged. “I’ll be surprised if he shows up at all, to be honest.”

Will relaxed. “Oh. Okay.”

“He’s not _that_ scary.”

“You’re just used to it!” Will huffed. “I swear, when he looks at me, it’s like he’s judging my very _soul.”_

Nico choked on a laugh. “Don’t worry. I won’t let him try anything.”

“How do you say ‘hero’ in Italian?”

_“Eroe.”_

“ _Mio eroe!”_ Will grinned.

He hid his smile in his collar as his hand slid down to tangle with Will’s.

…

“I smell something good,” Will hummed, wringing his hands together as Nico let him in.

“It better,” he said as he closed the door behind them. “I slaved over it all damn day.”

“I’m sure it’ll taste just as good, too,” Will said, kissing Nico’s cheek before taking off his jacket and hanging it up.

“Shoes off,” Nico reminded him as he kicked off his own and padded into the living room, calling for his sister. “Bi! Will’s here!”

“ _Ciao,_ Will!” Bianca shouted from the kitchen, sounding anxious. “Uh, Nico? Can I see you in here for a minute?”

Nico glared at Will over his shoulder and pointed at the couch. “Sit. Stay.”

“Woof,” Will responded, but obeyed as Nico hurried to the kitchen.

“What’s…?” His voice trailed off as he gaped in horror at the state of the kitchen. “What did you _do?”_

“I… I was heating up the gravy on the stove!” Bianca said, dazed. “Next thing I know… _boom!”_ She gestured towards the mess all over the stove, cupboards, and wall. Nico followed her gaze up to the ceiling and started to chuckle. “It’s not funny!” she huffed.

“How did it get on the _ceiling?”_ He snorted. “Seriously, even _you_ couldn’t mess up that badly!”

Bianca flicked some gravy on him.

“Nice.” He grabbed a tea towel and wiped it off. “It’s just the gravy, though. We have more of it and tons of other food so don’t wor—”

The oven made a strange hissing noise and a bit of smoke started drifting out the vent.

Nico pointed at Bianca. “You.” He pointed to the door. “Couch.”

Bianca huffed, untied the apron off of her waist, and thrust it into his arms before stomping out, heels clicking against the floor, and walking into the living room. “Hi, Will,” Nico heard her say.

“Hey, Bianca. Did you get banished to the couch, too?”

“Yeah. Nico’s pretty strict when it comes to his kitchen.”

“I see. Uh, you have a bit of gravy in your hair.”

Nico didn’t pay them much attention after that. He just rolled up his sleeves and got to work on saving dinner. He wasn’t about to let anything, including Bianca’s negligence ruin Will’s Thanksgiving, especially once he had gotten this far.

He was tending to the turkey when he heard the doorbell. “BI!” he shouted.

“Got it!” she answered and a few moments later he heard Hazel and Frank’s voices exchange greetings.

“Where’s Nico?” Hazel asked loudly, as if expecting him to crawl out from nowhere.

“At his battle station,” Bianca said.

“Is Dad coming?”

“He said that Persephone and he would try to show up for dinner but that’s debatable.”

Nico put the turkey back into the oven, hoping he was cooking it correctly, and sighed. He stood up and turned, making to take off the ridiculous periwinkle oven mitts off, when he found himself blinking at a firm chest.

“You’re wearing an apron,” Will laughed out.

Nico flushed. “I told you to stay on the couch,” he grumbled, looking at his shoes.

Will toyed with the strings on the apron Nico had around his waist. “You’re wearing a purple apron,” he sniggered.

“It’s periwinkle,” came Nico’s stupid response and he smacked himself in the head with the matching oven mitts as Will held his sides and laughed.

“I just came in to see if I could help.” Will wiped merry tears out of his eyes.

Nico was all too aware of the obvious ingredients sitting around his kitchen. He tried to steer Will back out of the kitchen, muttering a mixture of threats and excuses, but Will was like a brick wall. Nico’s ears heated up when Will’s attention was caught by the various things on the counter. “Wow, you’re really going all out, aren’t you?” Will whistled. “Is that turkey? Man, I…” He trailed off. “Wait… what’s today again?”

Nico crossed his arms and scowled. “I wanted to surprise you, _idiota.”_

“Surprise…?”

Nico shrugged. “Happy Thanksgiving, I guess.” Will’s stare made him feel uncomfortable. He fidgeted from foot to foot while Will just gaped at him. “Look, if you don’t want to celebrate then—” he broke off when Will pulled him into a tight hug.

“Love you,” Will said into his hair. “Really, you didn’t have to go to all this trouble just for me.”

Nico huffed but returned the hug. “What makes you think it was all for you?” It was a weak attempt at a bluff and they both knew it.

Will pulled back, beaming, and squeezed his hands. “You know, I help my mom out with the cooking and stuff. I can help.”

Nico made to protest, state that he didn’t need Will teasing him for acting like a housewife, but then he broke into a grin and untied the apron. He threw it at Will, who caught it with raised eyebrows. “Start chopping the potatoes, will you?”

Will tied the apron on and struck a pose. “How do I look?”

Nico broke into laughter. “Like I said earlier, you always look good.”

…

After dinner had been served and eaten, and none of them could take another bite of pumpkin pie, they took to the living room to talk. Will smiled down at Nico, who had his head on Will’s lap and was fast asleep. He kept his hand on the top of Nico’s head, rubbing gentle circles to his scalp.

“Here,” Hazel said, handing Will a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” Will said gratefully and took a sip, impressed when it was exactly how he took it.

Hazel sat down on the coffee table across from him and smiled down at Nico. “Looks like he tuckered himself out, huh?”

Will grinned. “Yeah.” Nico had definitely put his all into making it as authentic of a Thanksgiving as possible. Just as they finished setting all of the food on the table, Nico’s father and stepmother arrived. Will’s nerves had immediately been stirred, but were quelled immediately by his boyfriend.

Nico had marched right up to his parents and started nagging them both for being late, which led to the funniest fight Will had ever seen. Nico, Bianca, and their parents were all yelling in Italian, making wild gestures that left Will with an inkling of the types of insults that were being exchanged. However, when they all finally sat down, Will could see the upwards tilt to Nico’s lips and just how very pleased he was to have everyone together.

Thankfully, Nico’s father and stepmother didn’t stick around for long. They let the kids enjoy the rest of the night, which consisted mainly of board games, Christmas music, and auctioning off the remaining desserts. Bianca and Hazel told a lot of embarrassing stories about Nico from when he was younger, and Nico barked at them to shut up until he was blue in the face.

Eventually, things had calmed down, and they discovered that _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer_ was playing on television. It was a bit strange to be watching it dubbed in Italian but Will had seen the movie enough times with his siblings so it wasn’t too bad. Nico had sat next to him and, as the movie progressed, Nico slumped farther and farther into Will, until it led to where he was now, using Will’s thighs as a pillow.

“Well, you survived one family get together,” Hazel said, looking over to where her boyfriend and Bianca were preparing leftovers. She smiled. “What do you think? Ready to run yet?”

Will chuckled and shook his head. “It was fun. I think I’m finally starting to get used to this family’s sense of humor.” It had been a bit unsettling, at first, when he heard the di Angelos yell imaginative death threats at each other, but he knew now it was all in good fun and none of the words were really meant.

Nico gave a sigh in his sleep and nuzzled closer to Will, bringing his knees up to curl into a ball. Will started to run his fingers through his dark hair again with a fond smile, thinking about how much Nico had done for him, not just that day but over the last year they had known each other.

Will snorted. “I can’t wait to see what he has planned for Christmas.”

Hazel shook her head. “Let’s see… usually, Bianca forces Dad into a Santa suit and Nico and Persephone get really drunk on wine and start caroling.”

Will laughed loudly, slapping a hand around his mouth when Nico gave a disgruntled huff. Hazel giggled and stood, patting Nico on the head before going up to do the same for Will. “I should probably get Frank and go. We have class tomorrow still.”

“Right,” Will said. “It was nice seeing you again.”

“You, too. Oh, and Will?”

Will tilted his head back. “Yeah?”

“Nico’s my brother, and I know he’s a pain in the neck sometimes.” Hazel smiled “But he really likes you. Just be good to him, all right?”

Will flushed. “U-uh… yeah. Yeah, of course!”

As Hazel went to go collect her boyfriend and her share of the leftovers, Will turned his attention back to the sleepy Italian sprawled across his lap. He took a sip of his coffee, feeling overly relaxed.

He was grateful that Nico di Angelo had found his way into that godforsaken McDonald’s that Will had been wasting away in, and even more so that he got to call him his boyfriend.

 _“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,”_ the radio crackled.

Will took another deep drink of coffee and started to hum along, content to sit there all night and enjoy the feeling of having a whole new family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You butter believe that I’m bringing Bianca into this alive and well. Also, Hazel is still Nico’s half-sister, but the details of that will be explained in a later story.
> 
> Anyways, Happy Thanksgiving, my fellow Americans! Enjoy your football, turkeys, and Black Friday preparations! To anyone that doesn’t celebrate, have an awesome day and please excuse us Americans as we post ridiculous amounts of pics of pumpkin pie. :)


	5. Friday Night Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For PoisonBones over on FF.net. :3
> 
> America fic!

Nico stepped into the McDonald's with his backpack slumped over his shoulder. Stupid professors assigning him a paper due Monday. As if he didn't have enough to do already.

'Enough' pretty much referred to the blonde standing behind the counter in the visor. He immediately marched towards him, ready to rant about his idiotic teachers over a milkshake.

They had planned to spend all weekend together, a sort of romantic getaway from schoolwork. Will still had work, but at least they would have the apartment all to themselves. Will's roommates had gone home for the weekend and they'd leapt at the chance. Nico had never stayed over at his apartment yet and he was excited to finally be able to act like a real couple. But then Dr. Chiron decided to throw a surprise paper at him on the differences between Greek and Roman warfare strategies. Nico could care less about ancient, dead civilizations when he had a very lively boyfriend waiting for him.

"You won't believe what my Ancient Civ prof did," Nico complained as soon as he approached Will, casually throwing his bag on the counter like he lived there. He practically did most days. Thankfully, it wasn't busy in the slightest so Nico didn't have to worry about other customers giving him lip for holding up the line.

Will, who was stocking cups, turned around to face him, and Nico recoiled. "What happened?" Will asked in a groggy, stiff voice. His face was pale and flushed, eyes a bit swollen and watery, and his nose was red. His eyes were lacking that boyish charm that made Nico stare at him for hours. Will sniffled delicately and Nico's concerns immediately went to him.

"What happened to _you?"_ Nico frowned. "You look awful."

Will chuckled. "Gee. Thanks, babe."

"You know what I mean." He crossed his arms. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, 'm okay!" Will slurred, waving him off with what Nico assumed was supposed to be a reassuring shrug.

"You don't look or sound okay."

"It'z jus' a bit of allergies. 'M fine!" Will tried to smile reassuringly. "Totally ready for our weekend alone!" Will probably meant to look charming, but his hand slipped off the counter and he nearly smacked his face off the register instead.

Nico was torn between laughing and telling him off, but instead he just reached over and placed his palm flat against Will's forehead. "You're burning up!" he scolded, hands immediately on his hips. "Will!"

"What?" Will whined, straightening up with a huff. "I feel _fine, Dad!"_

"How long have you had that fever?"

"I don't… not long…"

"Will," Nico hissed warningly.

His shoulders slumped. "This morning. I took some ibuprofen and hoped it would go away by now but…"

"You idiot," Nico growled. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Will pouted. "Cuz you'd yell at me."

"Damn straight." He huffed. "When's your shift over? Go tell your manager you're leaving early."

"What?" Will went even paler. "Have you even _met_ my manager? She'd cook you alive just for saying that! She runs a tight ship, man!"

Nico remained firm. "So do I. Who would you rather have on your bad side?"

Will glanced behind him and back. Nico could practically see him weighing the options on other side before he seemed to make a decision and sighed. "Be right back," he muttered and trudged into the back.

Grinning victoriously, Nico put his backpack on and zipped up his jacket. A little bit of manipulation in a relationship never hurt anybody. He waited at his usual booth for Will to stumble out. It didn't take long for Will to show up, already in his coat and looking defeated. "She yelled at me for coming in at all," he sniffled.

"Well, that's what you get."

"Mean."

Nico rolled his eyes and took Will's elbow, gently leading him out the restaurant and into the chilly air. "Don't you have a scarf?" Nico scolded, already unwrapping the one around his neck and draping it over Will's.

Will was strangely quiet during their walk. Every once in a while, Nico would miss a turn or stop and blink at a street sign in confusion and Will would tentatively mutter directions under his breath. "I know where I'm going!" Nico would stammer, cheeks pink, and started tugging Will down the sidewalk.

"Course you do," Will chuckled before erupting into coughs.

Nico grimaced and pulled him along faster. When they made it to Will's apartment, Nico fished the keys out of Will's jacket and unlocked it before guiding Will inside. "Pre-med, my ass." Nico pointed to the couch. "Sit down. Don't throw up."

Will rolled his eyes. "Oh, I feel better already."

"Shut it."

Will leaned over and pushed a kiss to the top of Nico's head. "Look, it's just a cold. I'm going to go put some jammies on and take some Nyquil and I'll be fine."

Nico hesitated. "Maybe… maybe blow your nose, too."

A horrified look overcame Will as he slapped a hand over his nose and scurried away. "For real? Ugh, Nico, why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Nico shook his head, trying to dispel the smile on his face as Will disappeared into the bedroom. A few moments later, he heard Will begin to cough again. He frowned. There had to be something more he could do. What did people do when their boyfriends were sick? He briefly considered texting someone for help but immediately dismissed the idea. Percy and Jason would be just as clueless, Annabeth would give him a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo that he didn't understand, and he really didn't need another one of Leo's innuendos. No, he could take care of Will just fine on his own.

He went into the bathroom, digging through the medicine cabinet for any sort of cold medicine. Will actually didn't have Nyquil, but he had Dayquil. Did it make a difference? Was it bad to take _Day-_ quil at night? For all Nico knew, there were some sort of harmful chemicals that interfered with sleep-schedules and he could be poisoning Will. He put the Dayquil back onto the shelf worriedly and found some tablets of Alka-Seltzer. He grabbed the box and started reading.

 _"For severe cough, mucus, and congestion,"_ he muttered and frowned again. What qualified as _severe?_ What if he overmedicated? Was that possible? "Ugh." Nico hit his head off of the cabinet door. Why was he stressing over this so much?

"Nico?" Will appeared at the door. He was dressed in sweatpants, an overlarge hoodie, and too-bright socks. "What'cha doing?"

"Uh," was Nico's intelligent response.

Will came closer and looked into the medicine cabinet. He grabbed the Alka-Seltzer seemingly without though. "Thank God these things come in pill form now," he said as he tore open the package. "I always hated when my mom would make me drink a whole glass while the thing was still fizzing. Nasty."

"Is that all right to take?" Nico asked quickly, pointing at the pill. "I mean, it says for _severe_ cough."

Will snorted. "It's fine."

Nico glanced away when he felt his cheeks heating up. "All right," he muttered and walked out of the bathroom. Okay, so Will got the medicine. What else could he do? He looked into the kitchen. Cook. He could cook. "Are you hungry?" he called over his shoulder.

"Hm?" Will poked his head out.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

Will grimaced. "Oh, uh. I don't know. Stomach's kinda queasy."

Nico nodded. "Still… have you eaten anything at all today?"

"I, uh, had some apple slices at work?"

He sighed. "Sit down. I'll see if there's anything you can eat."

He searched through the kitchen cabinets and the fridge, but found only the typical college dietetics - Doritos, popcorn, soda cans, pizza rolls, etc. Nico glanced at the packaging and blanched. Could pizza rolls go bad? Nico made a mental note to take Will grocery shopping when he felt better. Did he eat that sort of crap on a daily basis? No wonder he was ill.

"Will, your kitchen sucks!" he shouted and heard Will chuckle.

"I know. I don't really have the time to keep it stocked."

Nico hummed. He wasn't about to let Will eat stale chips and freezer-burn for dinner. His stomach would upchuck that in two minutes flat. He dug through the cupboards again. What was even all right for someone with an upset stomach to eat? Toast? Ginger Ale? He remembered his sister giving him soup when he had gotten the flu last winter but the only cans Nico found in Will's kitchen were full of expired pie-filling. He could go get some. Though, he had no idea how to get to the nearest supermarket from here. He couldn't even drive.

Again, he thought about phoning for help, but that would be admitting defeat and he really didn't want his friends mucking up their weekend. After all, even though Will was hacking up a lung and a half in the living room, they were still _together._

In the end, he found some bread and shoved it into a toaster. It got stuck in the slots and a heavy burnt smell filled the air so Nico had to unplug it and fish it out with a fork. He probably put too much jam on it, but hopefully that would cover up the burnt taste.

 _"Boun appetito,"_ he muttered and dropped the plate onto the coffee table.

Will picked up a piece and scrutinized it, turning it in all different directions. "Did you toast it or use a flamethrower?"

Nico sat down beside him, arms crossed and nose in the air. "If you don't want it then don't eat it."

Will frowned, looked at the horribly burnt toast and back at Nico a few times, and gave a long-suffering sigh. He nibbled at the edge. "Ugh. I think that jelly is bad."

Nico threw his hands up in surrender. "You're supposed to be the healthy one! What happened to the four food groups?" He glared. "And you called _McDonald's_ bad!"

"Actually," Will swallowed his bite, "there are _five_ food groups. And between work and school and meeting up with you I don't really have a lot of time. Also, McDonald's _is_ _way_ worse than this. You have to pay for your stomach virus there." He winked and held up his burnt toast. "This is free!"

Nico wanted to smack him, as disparaging Nico's cooking was beyond unwise, but Will gave a sniffle and his resolve faltered. He couldn't inflict pain on someone that was already miserable. He looked away angrily, glaring at the television.

"Oh, come on! I didn't mean it like that!" Will whined. "You're an awesome cook! It's my American appliances. They can't keep up with your Italian talent."

If anyone else had said that, Nico would have punched them in the balls. But, it was Will and he was sick so Nico relaxed back into the couch and let Will wrap an arm around him. "Damn right," he muttered.

Will laughed, though it sounded hoarse and raspy. "So much for our romantic weekend, huh?" He sighed. "I'm sorry. This wasn't exactly what I was picturing."

Nico snorted. "And what were you picturing?"

"Candles, a real dinner, Netflix." Will shrugged with a lopsided grin. "You know. The classics."

A smile cracked Nico's stony features. He tried to hide it. "Netflix? How thoughtful."

Will laughed again. "Babe, if I could I would watch every single movie on there if it meant being with you." Well that was… actually quite sweet. He opened his mouth to say something nice back, but Will continued, "Though… I'd pop the popcorn. Apparently, someone likes to burn things," he taunted, dancing the charred toast in front of Nico's face.

"Oh, you sweet talker, you," Nico replied dryly.

Will grinned. "You know it." He leaned back, taking another bite of his toast with a loud _crunch._ "So, what now?"

Nico looked at him.

"Like… we could watch a movie or you could just go or—"

Nico frowned. "Do you want me to go?"

"What? No!" Will pouted. "I didn't mean it like that! I just… I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to. I know I'm not exactly an eye-catcher right now."

Nico shook his head. "You're more of an eye-catcher than you think," he mumbled before realizing it then blushed at his confession.

Will just smiled. "Right back at ya. But just forget about what I said. Stay. Please!" He emphasized his point by wrapped his arms around Nico and squeezing him tightly, holding him to his chest. Nico growled and tried to break free, but Will's cold hadn't affected his stubborn strength at all.

"All right, fine! Fine! Just let me breathe, will you?"

Will released him. "Sorry. We can still watch some movies and cuddle?"

Nico took in a sharp breath and glared at him. "You're such a kid," he accused before settling back along Will's side. "I get to pick what we watch first."

"Yessir!"

By midnight, Nico was fighting to keep his eyes open. Will had drifted off, using Nico's shoulder as a pillow as he snored softly. Nico moved his hand from Will's head to the controller and, after fiddling with it for a few minutes, managed to turn everything off. "Hey," Nico whispered, gently shaking his boyfriend, "Will. Wake up."

"Hnn?" Will opened his eyes. "Whatisit?"

"Movie's over. Come on. Time for bed."

Will nuzzled Nico's neck before agreeing. Nico tried to help him up but Will just waved him away. "I'm all right!" he yawned out, rubbing the back of his head. "Man, your shoulder is pointy."

Nico huffed but followed Will into his room. Will immediately fell into bed face-first, groaning into his pillow. Nico had enough sense left to change into his pajamas he'd brought along. As he sat down on the bed, he felt a twinge of disappointment. He hadn't taken very good care of Will at all. He wanted to be one of those kind and caring boyfriends that could turn any bad thing into a good situation, but he'd just complained and fed Will burnt toast. Not very caring of him.

Sighing, he lay down beside Will, wondering why Will put up with him at all. He was surprised when Will immediately curled into him, wrapping an arm around his chest and abandoning his pillow in favor of Nico's shoulder. "I thought it was pointy," he said softly.

Will chuckled. "I still like it." He yawned again. "Thanks for staying," he slurred sleepily.

Warmth spread through Nico. He was thankful the dark could conceal his goofy grin as he pulled Will closer. Perhaps he hadn't been as useless as he'd thought.

Swiftly, he ducked down and kissed Will goodnight. Will lurched away, covering his mouth with his hand. "Germs," he complained, voice muffled.

Nico scoffed and knocked away Will's hand. "I don't care if you have a cold or bad breath or freaking laryngitis. I'll kiss you whenever I want."

Will smiled. "No complaints here," he said and Nico met his lips again.

Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise when they both woke up feeling awful, but it was worth it just by being able to pass each other tissues while snuggled up on the couch watching old reruns of sitcoms.

Moreover, Nico's illness earned him an extra day for his paper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC.


	6. Boun Natale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eight months fic!

**_Get on Skype! :-P_ **

**_What's the magic word?_ **

**_NOW!_ **

**_Add another tally to the amount of punches I owe you when I see you next._ **

**_XoXOxO_ **

The moment a little green light appeared next to Nico's profile, Will hastened to start a chat, nearly bouncing in his seat with excitement. As usual, it took a few minutes for the connection to stick and the image to filter into view. But then there was Nico, wrapped up in a cozy afghan and looking adorable in an overlarge plaid shirt.

Upon taking in Will's appearance, Nico let out a single loud shout of laughter, covering his mouth to hide it. _"WHAT are you wearing?"_

Will grinned victoriously and straightened out his fake beard. "I'm Santa!"

Nico burst into laughter again, still trying to hide it behind both hands. _"Y-you look so ridiculous!"_

Will was just happy his plan had worked. Getting Nico to laugh – fully, heartily laugh – should become an Olympic sport. Will was certain he'd _at least_ get the bronze medal and wear it proudly. He'd missed the sound desperately over the last month and, even though they still had over seven months to go, Will thought he would be able to through it if he could always get Nico to laugh like that. "I wore this to work, yanno!" he huffed in a faux-offended tone.

Nico cracked up even harder, falling forward to let his head smack against the keyboard. _"Wh-why would you…?"_

"C'mon, now," Will drawled out and waited for Nico to raise his gaze. Then Will kicked up the charm. He leaned one elbow on the table, cocked a suggestive eyebrow, and winked. "Tell Santa whether you've been _naughty_ or _nice!"_

He had hoped the conversation would have taken a much more romantic route, but he hadn't expected Nico to let out a loud howl of laughter and quite literally fall out of his chair. Will winced at the sound of his boyfriend crashing onto the floor, chortling the whole time, and blushed.

"I'm being serious!" he called to him.

_"O-oh! Will, stop it! I can't b-breathe!"_

Will shook his head with a fond smile as his boyfriend climbed back into his chair, wiping at his eyes with the overly long sleeves of his plaid shirt that looked awfully familiar. Will gaped at him. "Is that _my_ shirt?"

Nico turned a deep shade of red and glanced down at himself before hugging his arms protectively. _"S-so? You have one of my hoodies!"_

"Yeah, but you have a hundred of those! That was my favorite shirt!" Will pouted. "I thought I'd lost it!"

_"You want me to mail it back to you?"_

Will sighed and shook his head. "No. It looks better on you anyways. But I _will_ come and get it."

Nico smiled and leaned back in his chair. _"All right then. So… how exactly do you gauge whether someone's been naughty or nice, Mr. Claus?"_

Oh, that was definitely more like it. Will put a finger on his chin in mock thought. "Hm… well, you stole my shirt so that definitely steers you more towards the naughty list." He nodded authoritatively. "Then, of course, there's the matter of the other thing you stole."

Nico glared. _"Other thing? What other thing?"_

Will gasped, splaying a hand across his heart like he'd been shot. "Do you really not know?"

_"Know what? What are you accusing me of stealing?"_

He batted his eyelashes at him and stuck out his bottom lip in the failsafe way he knew would make Nico flustered. "My heart."

Nico stared at him for a few moments then guffawed, holding his sides as he nearly cried with laughter.

Will's face heated up. "H-hey! That was some serious romance! Quit laughing!"

 _"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"_ Nico held his hands up in surrender, unable to quell the humor in his voice. _"Just… just take off the beard! Please!"_

Will rolled his eyes. "Well, I would if I could, sweetheart," he said before becoming abruptly serious and staring Nico dead in the eyes. "But it's real."

Nico gave that adorable snort again, ducking out of the camera in embarrassment. _"Dio mio,_ _Will, just take it off! I can't take it!"_

Will blew out a sigh but did as he was told. "All right, all right! Better?"

Nico peeked into view again, cautiously gauging Will's appearance, before letting his full face be seen. _"Much."_

"I didn't know beards got you going so much!" Will winked. "Maybe I should grow my own."

 _"Oh, God, please don't."_ Nico wrinkled his nose. _"I prefer my doctors clean-shaven, thank you."_

Will snorted and ran a hand along his cheek. "It _is_ baby-smooth."

Nico shook his head in a "Why me?" gesture. _"Anyways, did you get my present yet?"_

"OH, right!" Will grinned. "It just came today! I was gonna wait to open it until you got the one I sent you."

Nico nodded. _"I got it today, too, but I figured you would want to open them together."_

He rolled his eyes. "Sure. Right. _I_ wanted to."

_"Shut up, Solace."_

"Hold up. Lemme go grab it!" He rocketed out of his chair and searched around his messy room for the package.

 _"It's on the top shelf,"_ Nico called out. _"I can see it from here."_

Will glanced at his bookcase and spotted it at once. "Ah! Thanks, babe!"

_"Don't call me that."_

"Sure, Pudding Pop."

_"Add another tally to the amount of times I have to hit you. Where are we at now?"_

"I believe that's fourteen."

_"And it hasn't even been a month yet."_

Will sat back down, holding the silver and gold wrapped present in his hand. He smiled at the tag, at his name scribbled in Nico's neat cursive. "Got mine?"

Nico held up a red and green present with a black bow on top. _"To the Italian, love the Cowboy,"_ Nico read aloud with a sigh. _"Are you ever going to let that go?"_

"You're the one with the cowboy fetish, dude."

_"I hate you."_

Will winked. "Yeah, yeah. You gonna open it or what?"

 _"Bossy."_ Nico tore at the paper eagerly and immediately glared up at Will, who burst into laughter as Nico held up a fake white beard of his own.

"Oh my God! Look at your face!" Will cried. "Put it on, put it on, put it on!"

Nico sighed, glanced over his shoulder anxiously, and rose the beard to his face, securing it behind his ears. _"How do I look?"_

Will understood exactly why Nico had had a laughing fit earlier. Will could scarcely breathe let alone get out an answer. "Y-yo-you l-look s-so cute!" he choked out. "I-I can't take it!"

 _"Sometimes I wonder why I put up with you and your awful jokes,"_ Nico huffed, going to take it off.

"W-wait!" Will reached out and took a screenshot of his laptop. It made an obvious clicking noise, like the lens of a camera fluttering shut.

Nico made an outraged noise. _"William Solace! Did you just take a picture of me?"_

Will grinned cheekily. "Maybe!"

_"I am going to KILL YOU! Delete that right now!"_

"No way! Never!"

_"WILL!"_

"Sorry, not happening! It's too precious to me!"

Nico scowled, which looked far too adorable when he was still wearing a fake beard. Knowing he'd pay for it later, he took a second screenshot. As soon as Nico heard the sound he squawked in indignation, ripping the beard off and angrily sputtering out in Italian. Will didn't even care if he was being called a thousand different horrible words; he could listen to Nico speak Italian all night long.

"There's more, you know," Will interrupted and pointed at the present. "I didn't just get you embarrassment for Christmas."

Nico huffed, muttering that Will better not have just gotten him a scratchy, cheap beard. He heard him digging in the wrapping paper. Nico lifted out a large jar filled with tiny envelopes. He looked questioningly at Will, so he explained. "There are two hundred and nineteen little notes in there. One for every day between now and August eighth, when I get to see you again." There was something unreadable in Nico's expression. Will gulped. "Uh, Annabeth told me about it. Only some of them are romantic. Mostly they're jokes and random facts because I couldn't think of enough nice things to say." He glanced away. "If it's too sappy, I… uh…"

Nico shook his head vigorously and hugged the jar closer to him. _"No! No, uh, it's just, uh… it makes my gift look dumb."_

Will clicked his tongue. "Now, I'm sure that's not true at all!" He looked down at the present and smiled. "You could have gotten me a piece of coal and I would've been happy."

_"…I actually considered that as a gag."_

"Can I open it now?"

He nodded.

Will carefully removed the wrapping paper, trying hard not to tear it. Nico barked at him to hurry it up but Will shushed him. Slowly, he managed to uncover a small little box. Grinning, he opened it. The smile slipped off his face as he pulled out a nice-looking watch. The face showed a globe, with two hour hands instead of one. One of them, Will noticed, said "ME" and the other said "HIM". It looked, and felt, expensive and well-made.

 _"It, uh… tells both of our times,"_ Nico muttered, hiding himself again. _"I figured if anything it would be useful. You know…"_

Will's heart ached when he saw an engraving on the back. _Made in Italy._ "Nico," he whispered, "you seriously shouldn't have. This is… this is seriously too much!"

_"It's nothing…"_

"No, for real!" Will gaped. "Is this real gold? How much was this? You shouldn't spend so much on _me!"_

_"I don't care about that, Will."_

"Well, you should!" Will huffed, but immediately fastened the watch around his wrist. It fit perfectly. "But, it's nice. Really."

 _"It's not as thoughtful as a jar full of heartfelt notes,"_ Nico muttered, looking away with red cheeks.

"Shut up. I love it." Will watched as the minute hand slowly chased after the second hand. "Thank you."

Nico shrugged. _"I should be thanking you."_

"For what?"

 _"Just… for…"_ Nico sighed. _"For being you."_

Will smiled. He reached out to touch Nico's face, obstructed by the thin screen. "I miss you."

Nico frowned. He looked down. _"I miss you, too. And, uh… I—"_

Nico's bedroom door opened. _"NICO! Stop flirting with your boyfriend and go to sleep! It's one in the morning, for God's sake!"_

Nico flushed angrily and he spun around. _"Get out of my room, Bianca! I'm kind of in the middle of something!"_

_"I bet! Just keep it down, will you? It's bad enough I have to hear you moping about him during the day!"_

_"GET OUT!"_ Nico shouted, scrambling out of his chair to shut the door on his sister's face.

_"I'll tell Dad!"_

_"Go ahead! Wake him up and see what happens!"_ Nico rushed back and blew his hair out of his face. _"Sorry, amore, I have to go."_

"No problem." Will grinned and tapped his new watch. "It's getting late, after all."

Nico smiled sheepishly and glanced at his door. _"I'll, uh, message you tomorrow."_

"I'll be waiting." He leaned forward expectantly. "See you."

Nico did the same, until their faces were both pressed up against the camera. Will's lips pressed against the lens just ever so slightly and received a shock for his troubles. He lurched back, cursing as Nico gave a nervous laugh. _"Goodnight, Will,"_ he said.

Will held his lips and smiled. "Night, Sunshine. Merry Christmas."

Nico's smile could have melted the snow outside his window. _"Buon Natale."_ He reached forward and, with one last goodbye, hung up, leaving Will feeling strangely alone.

He sighed and looked down at his watch, tracing the face delicately. It was one-fifteen in the morning in Venice – December 25th. As he was admiring his gift, he realized something. Nico had called him something Italian. _A moor_ or something. _Amore._ That was it.

Curiously, he googled it and almost slid right off his chair in his haste to message Nico.

**_So… I'm your 'Love' am I? XD XOXO_ **

It didn't take long for him to get a response.

**_IOU 15 punches._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this so fast and it probably shows but I wanted to do a Christmas-fic with this AU and I'm an idiot who has three stories to finish and instead starts writing two more. Anywho, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to all of you guys! Travel carefully, practice safe caroling, and enjoy your day off! :3


	7. Surrealism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Will arrives in Italy and there is just plot-less fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooo! I know I've got two other fics to update, but it was [ShibuyasComposer's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/ShibuyasComposer/pseuds/ShibuyasComposer) birthday a few days ago and I wanted to write something for her. So happy late birthday, Kari! :D I hope you have the best year yet! ;3
> 
> Italy fic!

Nico couldn’t – wouldn’t – let go of his hand.

As they navigated their way out of the airport, and into the busy lot outside, and onto the crowded, rather dirty public bus, Nico clutched onto Will’s hand with a dying grip. For a bit, he worried that he was actually hurting the American but when Will responded with just as much pressure, Nico figured he was feeling about the same. They sat in the back, arms pressed firmly together, and ignored any lingering stares they probably received. Thankfully, the bus was nearly empty at this hour.

Nico’s full attention was on the way Will’s thumb was tracing circles into his hand and how perfectly his head pillowed onto Will’s shoulder. Will gave a contented sigh and nudged the suitcases on the floor with his foot. “It’s gonna be fun unpacking all of this.”

“It’s better than packing it up,” Nico muttered and promptly hid a yawn into Will’s shoulder. It was annoyingly late. Or, rather, annoyingly early. Will’s plane had landed at the Venice Marco Polo Airport at three twenty-six in the morning. Nico, as the overthinking ball of nerves he had always been, hadn’t slept a wink and been there at eleven.

Will shimmied his shoulder, jerking Nico awake. “You can’t sleep!” he scolded. “I don’t know where we’re going!”

“Bluh,” was Nico eloquent response. Nonetheless, he straightened up and willed his eyes to stay open.

The bus slowed to a stop and the fluorescent traffic lights brightened up the dark bus. Nico took the opportunity to ogle his boyfriend. After only seeing him through a smudged, pixelated screen for eight long months, Nico figured he was allowed to stare a bit. Will was blinking himself awake, stifling a yawn behind the overlarge sleeve of his NYU hoodie. Half of his face was highlighted bright red from the stoplight, and it suddenly flashed green and the bus rolled forward. Will yawned again and wrapped an arm around Nico, who happily moved into the embrace.

“I need some coffee,” Will muttered.

“At three in the morning,” Nico huffed, “I don’t think so. Your head would explode.”

Will chuckled. “Then when we wake up?”

“Bianca brews it every morning.”

“Awesome,” Will said with yet another yawn.

When they reached their stop, Nico had to push Will to his feet. “Almost there,” he said as he grabbed one of Will’s suitcases and guided him off of the bus. “My house is just around the block.”

“Are you _sure_ your dad is okay with me staying the night?”

“He’s in Rome for a business conference. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Nico stopped for a moment to readjust his grip on the case. “Damn, Will, what did you pack? Books?”

Will cast him a sleepy smile and Nico hated how, even worn-out and exhausted, Will still made him blush. “Even better,” he teased. “Rocks.”

“Weights would have been a better answer,” he muttered and nudged him along. “Keep walking.”

Will groaned and stumbled stubbornly forward. They didn’t speak as they walked but their arms kept brushing and eventually Will just reached over and threaded their fingers together again. Finally, they reached Nico’s driveway and he sighed in relief. “Here,” he said.

Will froze, hand going rigid in Nico’s, and Nico immediately turned. “What?”

Will was gaping at his house. “You live _here?”_

Nico raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“What does your dad do again?”

“Divorce lawyer,” Nico answered automatically. “People say he’s good enough to rule Hell, whatever that means.”

Will nodded, still looking surprised.

“Does my house offend you or…?”

“No,” he squeaked, “it’s just… it’s _huge.”_

Nico shrugged. “Thank all the unhappy marriages, I guess.”

“Aw, man,” Will mused as they walked up to the door, “it’s gonna suck going to my dingy dorm after this.”

Nico felt his cheeks growing warm again. “Well… you know you’re… you’re always welcome here.”

Will was quiet for a moment and then squeezed his hand. “I… I really missed you.”

Oh, God, Nico was hoping they would skip the emotional stuff until the morning. He was so tired he wasn’t sure if he could handle it. He would probably collapse right there on the porch. Still, Nico managed to meet his gaze. “I missed you, too.”

They shared a smile before Nico reached for the doorknob. He turned it, but it didn’t budge. Locked? He tried it again. “Shit,” he hissed.

“Locked out?”

“Yeah, just let me find my key.” Nico started patting at his pockets and blanched when he came up empty. He gave Will a horrified look.

“That’s it.” Will dropped his bag to throw his hands up dramatically. “I’m sleeping on the porch.”

“Or I could call Bianca to let us in.” Nico dug his phone out of his jacket as Will stubbornly sat down and leaned his head against Nico’s head.

“Hurry,” he whined.

“Shush.” He held his phone up to his ear and waited as the monotone ring sounded.

_“Oh my God, Nico, I swear you had better be dying.”_

“We’re locked out,” Nico said. “Come let us in.”

His sister let out a frustrated groan. _“It’s four o’clock! Are you kidding me right now? Where’s_ your _key?”_

“Just come down! We’re just as tired as you are.”

_“Who’s ‘we’?”_

“Will.”

_“I thought he was staying in a dorm! Dad’s gonna be pissed.”_

“Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t listening. I was remembering that time you threw a party while Dad was in France and I took the fall when your drunk friends broke the television.”

There was the sound of rustling sheets and movement, and, a few moments later, the front lock clicked and then the door swung open, revealing his grumpy, messy-haired sister with a defeated glare. “Touché, little brother,” she said and hung up.

Nico shook his leg, startling Will, who had been softly snoring into his jeans. “Wake up, _idiota._ Door’s open.”

“Yay,” Will sang tiredly and held up his arms. “Help me up?”

Nico rolled his eyes, but grabbed Will’s hands and yanked him to his feet. “Do you want me to carry you up the stairs, too?”

“That would be awesome,” he yawned out.

“Yes, very chivalrous of you, Nico,” Bianca huffed. “Now can I go to sleep?”

“I forgot the beast needs her beauty sleep,” Nico jabbed. Bianca stuck her tongue out at him.

“This is your sister?” Will lit up and held out his hand. “Hi! I’m Will. It’s meet to finally nice you.”

Bianca glanced at Nico for explanation and Nico tiredly replied, “He means it’s nice to meet you.”

“Yeah!” Will pointed languidly at Nico. “You know. Face to face.”

“Right,” Bianca muttered uncertainly.

“We’ll do proper introductions in the morning.” Nico pushed Will into the door and dragged his suitcases in after him. “Let’s just go to sleep.”

“Yay,” Will repeated.

“All right. I’m going to bed. Don’t try anything or I swear to God I _will_ tell Dad. Goodnight, dorks.” Bianca went up the stairs and Nico could practically hear her flop into bed and start snoring.

Nico pulled at Will’s arm. “C’mon. Almost there.”

“My bags,” Will protested weakly.

“We’ll get them tomorrow.”

“My PJ’s are in them.”

“You can just wear mine.”

Nico pushed open his bedroom door and strode across the dark room to turn on his bedside table lamp. Soft light illuminated the room. “It looks smaller through webcam,” Will mused. He seemed to wake up enough to start exploring, looking at the books on his shelves and the posters on his walls and the pictures on his desk while Nico began rummaging around in his dresser for two pairs of sweatpants.

He threw a pair of flannel plaid pants at Will’s head. “There. Those have always been big on me so they should fit.”

“Thanks.” Will pointed to one of the pictures on his desk. “How old were you in this?”

Nico had to crane his neck to see which one he was referring to. It was of Nico and Bianca dressed as pirates. It was a game they always played as kids. Bianca was always captain and Nico was the first mate. No exceptions. He shrugged. “Five? Six?”

Will smiled. “You were so cute.”

“Were?”

“Are.”

Nico blushed. He wasn’t really sure what to say so he just grabbed a pair of sweatpants for himself and a t-shirt. “I’m going to go change,” he said and walked into the bathroom.

When he emerged again, his heart practically burst at the sight of Will sprawled out on his bed, wearing Nico’s pajama pants. They were still too short on him, resting above his ankles. Nico silently cursed his height before cautiously sitting down on the other side. At once, Will’s arms wrapped around Nico’s waist and pulled him down.

“So happy you’re here,” Will was muttering into his hair. “I can’t believe I’m actually in Italy.”

Nico blew out a sigh and rolled onto his side so he could look at Will properly. “Me neither. But I’m so, so happy you are.” Will’s eyes fluttered closed so Nico took the opportunity to push a quick kiss to his forehead and whisper, “I love you.”

Will opened his eyes as Nico ran a hand through his blond hair. “I love you, too.” They just stared at each other for a bit before Will broke into breathless laughter. “Wow. It’s kind of intense saying it so close.”

Nico cracked a nervous smile. “Just go to sleep, you idiot.”

“‘Kay,” Will said immediately, looking far too happy to finally have a pillow beneath his head. “But first.” He leaned over and kissed Nico swiftly. Nico kissed back for as long as he dared, but before he’d had his fill he pulled back.

“We have all year for that,” Nico reasoned.

“Right.” Will pecked his nose. “Good night, Nico.”

“Night, Will.”

He reached over and turned off his lamp then settled back into the covers.

Within minutes, they were both asleep, curled into each other, and already dreaming of the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC.


	8. Spring Break - Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is plot, old friends, and gelato.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italy fic!

_April_

Nico tried not to let the warm weather get to him. It was strange that how, a year ago, Nico would have done anything to keep winter away, to make time stretch on forever so he could stay in America, but now he was trying to cling onto the icy season for the same reasons.

It was April. There was less than a month before Will had to return to America.

Over the last year, Nico had gotten so much closer to his boyfriend. It was practically habit now to take the bus over to Will's dorm, race up the steps, and spend the evenings talking about nothing in particular or going out with their arms interlocked or taking advantage of the fact that Will's roommate rarely stayed in the room.

Over the last year, Nico had fallen so much more in love with the American. It was ridiculous – pathetic, really – how dependent he had become on seeing Will's smile or hearing his laugh. It was silly, but Nico was even in love with being in love. He never thought being in a relationship could be so _fun_ , so fulfilling. Then again, he'd never had someone like Will.

And, somehow, it was a mutual feeling. Will was every bit in love with Nico, and it sent him over the moon.

But, in a month, Will would leave Italy and return to the US, and who knows what they would do then. Nico still had a year of university left, and Will was graduating and off to med school. So far, they hadn't mentioned Will's departure and Nico was getting flashbacks from last winter.

They kept themselves distracted with the remaining sights to see and keeping busy with school, friends, and dates. Still, as the spring semester wore thin, the heavy feeling lingered, settling in his head and refusing to budge.

There was one major event keeping the panic dammed up, however.

**_Okay, we just boarded the plane! We'll see you and Will in ten hours. DON'T FORGET US. –Jason_ **

Nico rolled his eyes at his phone and replied quickly as Will pulled on a hoodie. "Are they on their way?" he asked and sat down beside Nico on his bed, hand idly resting on Nico's knee.

Nico hummed in affirmation. "Unfortunately."

Will laughed and shook his knee. "Aw, I don't think I've ever seen you this excited!"

"Shut up." He waved Will away. "I am not."

"Yes, you are. You're practically shining."

"Maybe it's the lamp. High wattage lightbulbs."

"Mmhm. Sure." Will nudged him. "It's all right. You don't have to act all reserved around me, you know."

Nico cracked a smile despite himself. "I guess I have missed them a little."

"Just a little, though," Will teased and laughed when Nico swatted at him.

"God, do you _ever_ shut _up?_ " Nico laughed back, failing to sound threatening in the slightest.

Will just winked and pulled him closer. "It's a quirk," he said and, in a failed attempt to hit him again, they both fell right off of the bed, laughing.

…

At nine-thirty, Nico and Will took a bus to the Marco Polo airport. He was fine during the commute, happily accepting a Torrone from Will and chatting about idle things like the weather and what they should have for dinner. He was all right as they approached the entrance to the airport, shaking his head fondly as Will pointed up to sky at a landing jet and waved enigmatically to it as if the passengers could possibly see him. It was when they stood in front of the gate Jason told them they would be coming through, that Nico felt a sharp pang.

The next time he would be here, he realized, he would be saying goodbye to Will. Presumably for a long time. Will was oblivious, already talking to the older couple who were sitting next to them about their travel plans. "No way!" he exclaimed. "I'm _from_ New York! Where are you guys staying? I could tell you all the best places to go."

Nico's heart twisted again and, trying to seem nonchalant, he stealthily held onto the back of Will's hoodie, just so that he could remind himself that Will was still there.

It was just after ten when their flight landed and Nico felt a surge of excitement when Will smiled at him and said that they should go meet them at the gate. Nico didn't let himself get nervous or self-conscious as he held onto Will's hand in the airport. People looked, sure, but instead of shying away like he usually would have, it only served to make Nico raise his chin a bit higher.

They heard the group of Americans before they saw them.

"LAND!" a familiar voice cried and Nico turned in time to see Percy Jackson, looking quite green, gesture to the floor and looking as though he had just been saved from a burning building. "Oh, man, I'm never going on a plane again."

"That'll be a problem when we go home," Annabeth Chase reminded him, patting Percy on the back comfortingly.

"We could take a boat?" Percy posed pleadingly.

Jason Grace came into view, holding several bags all along his arms. He grimaced. "No way. I get sea sick way too easy. Plus it's faster by air."

"Whatever," Percy muttered dryly. "Let's just find Nico and Will so I can kiss this horrible place goodbye."

"We're right here," Will called over to them.

Five pairs of eyes immediately fixed on them and brightened. They hurried towards each other and Nico found himself being pulled into a tight, bone-crushing hug from Jason, bags slipping from his grip. "Nico!" he piped happily. "Aw, dude, I missed you so _much!"_

"Can't breathe," Nico choked out and Jason released him only for Piper McLean to hug him next. One by one, even Leo, they all hugged Will and him or ruffled his hair and excitedly asked how they were and how their year had been. Both of them decided to ignore the innuendos, winks, and nudges coming from Leo.

"Fine, fine," Nico replied hurriedly, "but we have a bus to catch so…"

"Right!" Leo clapped his hands together and bounced on his toes. " _Boungiorno_ , ladies," he called over to a small group of young women, who didn't seem to have heard him.

"The bus stop is a down a block," Nico said. "Just don't wander off," he added with a glare at Leo, who just grinned cheekily.

Nico led the way out of the airport with Will at his side and his friends following behind him. "This way," he instructed and turned left onto the sidewalk.

"Oh!" Annabeth exclaimed, pointing at a building. "Look at those buttresses!"

Percy peered over the top of his sunglasses. "Pardon?"

Leo's neck snapped from turning so quickly. "What?"

She rolled her eyes at them and threw a look to Nico that clearly said, "Help me."

"Hey, guys, watch the cars!" Jason scolded as he shuffled along behind them, holding the majority of the luggage and looking not unlike a pack mule. "Watch where you're going!"

"Yes, _Mom!"_ Piper teased.

Nico was already feeling the beginnings of a headache, but it was all rather worth it when, as they stood waiting for the bus to arrive, Will wrapped an arm around his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world and there was not a single peep or jab about it.

…

If their own voices weren't enough to wake the neighbors, the music probably did it. Nico didn't entirely worry about it. Bianca's parties were much worse, after all. Besides, it felt kind of nice being the host for once, to be involved in the party instead of staying holed up in his room with his desk pushed against the door so no drunken partygoers stumbled inside.

Instead, Nico was in his backyard with his friends, occasionally running back and forth to make sure that no one knocked over his stepmother's flower pots or that his father's office door remained locked and shut. They weren't home – thank God – but Nico would like to keep the collateral damage to a bare minimum.

Percy was lying in the hammock with a wet towel over his eyes, still looking green. Annabeth was sitting beside him and googling jetlag cures on Nico's laptop. Piper and Will were playing against Jason and Leo in an impromptu volleyball game. Nico didn't have a net so they tied together a bunch of pipe-cleaners and hung them up along the trees. Hazel and Frank came over about an hour earlier, and they were almost instantaneously accepted into the group. Bianca was lounging with a drink in hand, happy just to sit and enjoy the weather.

"Heads up!" Will shouted and a moment later a volleyball bopped Nico right on the head and he dropped his drink, cursing loudly.

Will jogged up with a smile and looking too close to laughter for Nico's liking. "Is the week over yet?" Nico asked dryly as he handed the ball back to Will.

Will just laughed and kissed the top of his head apologetically. "Why don't you play with us?"

"I'll pass," Nico muttered. Besides, it was hot and maybe Nico was ever-so-slightly enjoying the spectacle his shirtless boyfriend presented.

"His little arms couldn't even hit the ball over the net!" Leo shouted tauntingly.

Nico knew he was being baited but it worked. He tossed up the ball and spiked it right over to where Leo stood. Leo caught it with a barely audible, _"Oof!"_

"What was that, Valdez?" he called back.

Will whooped and somehow Nico got roped into playing two more games.

The sleeping arrangements were tight. The girls shared the spare bedroom and Bianca's room while the boys camped out in the living room.

"Man, this place is great," Percy said as they picked out their spots to sleep. "I don't wanna leave."

"I still want some real gelato," Leo yawned out.

Nico tossed a pillow at him. "You'll get gelato tomorrow. Just go to sleep."

"And here I thought _Jason_ was the Mom of the group," he retorted.

Will grinned. "Does that make me the Dad?" He pointed at Nico. "Iron my shirts!" Nico kicked him briskly in the shin and grinned triumphantly as Will hopped in pain.

"Hey, Will, by the way, when you get back to America you need to check out that new place on campus," Jason said. "They have live bands there all the time."

Nico froze in the act of locking the back door as a cold feeling grew in his stomach.

"Oh yeah. My friend, Cecil, was telling me about that place."

"Yeah, they just opened at the beginning of the semester and I swear to God their coffee is perfect," Percy interjected. "They're also hiring, bro, if you wanna get away from Mickey D's."

"Don't tease me," Will muttered. "Nico's spoiled me with the food over here. It'll be twice as awful working there now."

As they talked away their plans for the upcoming fall, none noticed as Nico crept past. He felt out of place, unwanted, like an interloper. He knew it was dumb to feel that way, but that didn't make it any easier. Will would be leaving – they would all be leaving – and Nico would remain in Italy. There was a pang he couldn't get rid of as he thought about the inevitable departure.

A few minutes later, Will came into Nico's room with a yawn. "Man, I'm tired," he announced before plopping onto the bed beside him. "And I think my shoulders got sunburnt. Do you have any – Nico?" Will peered up at him. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine."

Will's bottom lip pushed out but Nico didn't let it affect him. He stared blankly up at the ceiling with his hands folded across his stomach. Will reached over and lifted one, batting it from side to side in order to gain Nico's attention. "Nico…"

"I'm fine, Will. I'm just tired," he snapped, tearing his hand away and turning onto his side and ending the conversation.

He could feel Will's stare on him and burrowed under the covers, ignoring the slight guilt as Will let out a sigh and did the same.

…

The bags underneath Nico's eyes were the subject of interest at breakfast. "Didn't sleep well?" Annabeth asked sympathetically.

"Fine," Nico said as he poured some juice, avoiding the look Will was giving him. He changed the topic quickly. "What do you guys want to do today, anyways?"

"Gelato!" Leo demanded immediately, slamming his fists onto the table and disturbing his bowl of cereal.

Percy blew his nose into a tissue. "A run to the pharmacy would be awesome. I think I'm allergic to Italy."

"You can't be _allergic_ to a whole country," Annabeth protested. "But, I'm fine with anything as long as we get to check out the museums this week."

Jason pulled a map out of nowhere and spread it across the table. He started pointing to some places as though he was planning out a strategic attack. "Right, well, if we take the bus at noon to here we can get some decongestants for Jackson, ice cream for Leo, and still have time to sightsee."

"Thank you," Percy mumbled nasally.

"It's not just _ice cream!"_ Leo scoffed. "We're talking real, creamy, authentic Italian gelato."

"Calm down," Piper laughed, "we'll get your ice cream."

_"It's not—!"_

"Anyways," Jason interrupted loudly, "Nico, what do you think? Nico?"

"Huh?" Nico blinked over at his old roommate. "Oh. Yeah. That's fine with me. It might be quicker to take cars but parking one would be hell let alone two."

Leo raised his hand. "I'll drive! Italians drive on the other side of the road, right? I got this."

"We drive on the same side as you, _idiota,"_ Nico muttered, "and you are _not_ driving anything."

In the end, they took the bus. There weren't enough open seats for all of them so Percy jokingly perched himself on Jason's lap while Piper and Annabeth laughed and asked them how long they'd been together.

"Hear that?" Will nudged Nico. "I think we have competition."

"You're freaking heavy," Jason choked out.

When they reached a drugstore, Percy let out a dismayed groan. "Everything's in Italian!"

"Wow, it's almost like you're in Italy," Nico muttered so only Will could hear him.

"Here." Annabeth plucked a box off of the shelf. "That'll work."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "You know Italian?"

"Percy, we _met_ in Italian class."

"Oh yeah."

The next stop was gelato for Leo. If it got him to shut up, Nico would happily buy out the whole cart.

"Well, how is it, Leo?" Piper asked as Leo shakily raised a spoonful to his mouth.

The moment he tasted it he seemed to freeze.

"Leo?"

"It's everything I thought it would be," he sang and everyone laughed. Even Nico felt his lips twitch as he shook his head.

The rest of the day was spent walking around the city; shopping, taking pictures, and every once in a while Nico would point out an old famous sight or building and Annabeth would light up and launch into a long lecture. Nico hadn't realized how much he had missed his American friends until they were all grouped together for a photo. Will squeezed in with them while Nico manned the camera. As soon as he took it, his chest constricted again.

 _They're all going to leave,_ he reminded himself, and suddenly he didn't very much feel like going shopping and eating gelato. Will attempted to ask him what was wrong, but Nico brushed him away each time.

It was late when they returned home. Nico was exhausted. "I should just become a tour guide," he muttered. "I've been doing it so often."

Leo snorted. "I can see it now. _Tours di Angelo._ There'll be a big sign, 'WARNING,'" he said in an awful impersonation of an Italian accent, "'these tours are to _die for!_ '"

"I sound nothing like that!" Nico snapped while the rest roared with laughter.

"Nico, I love you," Will choked out, "but that sounded _exactly_ like you."

"Traitor."

"So, tomorrow's beach day?" Piper asked before an argument could break out. "I didn't pack my bikini for nothing, you know."

"Seconded," Leo called.

"You packed a bikini, too, Leo?" Jason teased and Leo just winked at him in response.

" _Lido di Venezia_ isn't far," Nico said. "We'd have to leave early and take the ferry."

"Beach day!" Percy cheered weakly. "The sea air will clear my sinuses right out!"

"Gross," Will muttered.

They sat around and talked for the rest of the night. They played games, watched a movie or two, and just hung out. Nico let his worries slip to the back of his mind for a bit, enjoying the weight of Will's arm around his shoulder as Jason and Percy made a show out of arm wrestling.

When neither seemed to be winning, and they just sat there with their hands clasped, arms shaking, and faces going red with exertion, the rest grew bored and wandered to the kitchen. "Does anyone want pizza rolls?" Nico asked as he pulled a bag out of the freezer.

Percy let out a dismayed groan and glared at Jason. "Dude, just lose so we can eat."

"No way, bro, you give up."

When the oven timer went off, Jason and Percy were in the kitchen. "Who won?" asked Piper.

"It's a tie," they answered together and grabbed a bunch of pizza rolls.

"Will, remember when you first started working at McDonald's and stole us a bunch of apple pies?"

Will scoffed. "I didn't _steal_ anything! I paid for them."

"Aw, man, weak."

"Oh my God!" Piper interjected. "Who were you dating at the time?"

"Ugh." Will grimaced. "Let's not talk about her."

"Who's this?" Nico raised an eyebrow. He wasn't upset, just curious. Will had never mentioned any exes before.

"Yeah, Will dated a freshman a year or two ago." Percy nodded. "Whatever happened to her?"

"She transferred." Will grabbed another pizza roll. "That's all. No big drama."

"Where did she transfer to?"

"Someplace west. I think she went to California or something like that." He shrugged. "Too far. It never would've lasted like that."

Nico glanced up to find that Will was avoiding his gaze. His eyebrows furrowed. What had Will meant? _Too far?_ He wasn't very well-versed in his American geography, but he was pretty sure that California was a hell of a lot closer to New York than Venice was. What the hell did that mean for them?

_It never would've have lasted like that._

Nico dropped his pizza roll back onto the pan and wiped his hands on his pants. "I think I'm gonna go to bed," he announced.

"What? It's still kinda early!" Leo protested with a full mouth.

"Yeah." Nico was careful not to look at Will. "I'm just tired."

"Everything okay?" Will asked gently.

"Yeah. Fine. See you tomorrow."

"Goodnight!" the rest chimed while Will silently watched him go, a frown on his face.

"You guys okay?" Nico heard Jason ask.

"Yeah," Will muttered. "You don't think he's upset that we were talking about my ex, do you? Maybe I should talk to him."

Sure enough, just a few moments after Nico closed the door to his room, Will opened it again and slid inside. "Nico?"

"Will, I'm _fine,"_ Nico muttered in exasperation. He just wanted to be alone for a bit, and he didn't want to see Will while these negative thoughts were stirring around in his head and reminding him that, come May, he wouldn't get to see Will anymore.

"No, you're not." Will sighed as he closed the door and stepped further into the room. "You've been… distant."

"You know how I am with PDA," he dismissed. "Seriously, Will, you can go back out there."

"Not until you tell me what's bugging you." Will sat down beside Nico on the bed. "I mean, you've been acting weird even before they mentioned my ex." Nico visibly tensed. "Did that bother you?"

Nico could sense he was about to get emotional. He kept quiet and stared at his feet.

"Nico, talk to me," Will pleaded. "Please?"

Nico blew out a long exhale, trying to keep himself steady. "I guess I'm just… thinking too much…"

"About?"

He bit his lower lip. "About you leaving." Will nodded, signaling to continue, and took his hand comfortingly. "And they were all talking about plans for when you go back and then you mentioned your ex." He wrinkled his nose. "It ended because the distance was too far."

Will's face became stern and he nudged Nico until he finally met his persistent gaze. "It ended because we didn't have a connection strong enough for it to last with that much distance. We only dated for, like, two weeks before she decided to transfer. We broke up pretty quick after that. You and I dated for two months," he laced their fingers together, "but I already knew way before that that we could handle the distance. No matter how much it _sucks_."

Nico squeezed his hand. "And what about when you go leave?"

"What about it?"

"What happens then? With us, I mean."

Will was quiet for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted lowly.

Nico sighed, frustrated, and pulled his hand away as he stood up. "That's all you can say?" He started to pace back and forth. "You don't know? Have you even thought about it at all?"

Will watched him. "Of course I thought about it."

"And? Not one idea stuck? _Merda!_ " Nico laughed and his voice cracked. "Do you… do you _want_ to break up?"

"No!" Will answered immediately and was on his feet. He stopped Nico's pacing by placing his hands on Nico's shoulders. "Look, Nico, I don't know what we're going to do in May. But we're going to figure it out, okay?"

Nico felt himself relax into the American's hold. "Okay," he echoed, accepting Will's offered embrace wholeheartedly.

"Don't scare me like that," Will said into his hair. "I thought for a second _you_ wanted to break up."

Nico held onto Will tighter. "I don't," he promised. "I really, really don't."

He could feel a smile against the top of his head before Will pushed a kiss to it. "Then we won't." They were still, silent, for a long time before Will spoke again. "Oh, and, by the way, why haven't we ever gone to the beach before?"

Nico groaned into his boyfriend's chest. "Because I hate it."

Will's laugh probably scared everyone in the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC.


	9. Spring Break - Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the gang has some beach fun and Leo digs a hole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. :)

Will took in a deep breath, face pointed up to the sky. The beach was his Nirvana. With the sun beating down on him, the sand between his toes, he was in his element. Perhaps not as much as Percy, who had run across the beach, shedding shoes and clothes as he went, and immediately dove into the water with as much grace as a dolphin. They hadn’t even put their bags down yet.

“He’s always like that,” Annabeth told them. “He’ll come out when he’s hungry.”

Will helped set up their little spot, sticking the umbrella into the sand like he was claiming land for Spain and sighed when Nico immediately plopped down in the shade, a book in hand and a hat over his head.

“Are you going to get any sun at all?” he asked his boyfriend, who just raised his eyebrows at him over his sunglasses.

“The sun and I don’t agree on a lot of things,” Nico replied, flipping his book to a seemingly random page and adjusting the towel he was sitting on. “I’m fine here. You go on.”

Will pouted but Nico didn’t see. Shrugging, he went to join Percy, Jason, and Piper in the water. They’d already borrowed boogie-boards from an unknown source and were trying in vain to ride the small waves back to shore. “Hey, man,” Percy greeted. “You boogie?”

“More of a surfing bird.” Will stepped into the water. “Holy shit! That’s cold!”

“You’re just like Jason,” Piper teased. “It took him fifteen minutes to just get up to his thighs.”

He turned to look at Jason, who was standing with the water up to his waist with his arms raised away from the water. Jason glared at his girlfriend. “It’s _freezing,”_ he defended and backed away when Piper smiled deviously and swam towards him. “No. No! Piper, don’t! _I still have my glasses on!”_ He shouted out when Piper splashed him relentless, retreating back onto the sand while she flopped onto her back and laughed.

By the time Jason had deemed it safe to venture back in, he joined Will, who was up to his knees, and glared at Piper and Percy warningly. “Everything cool with you and Nico?” he asked lowly.

Instinctively, Will glanced over his shoulder to where Nico was firmly planted under the large umbrella, not even giving up a fight as Annabeth started putting little braids in his choppy hair. Frank and Hazel were building a sandcastle. In front of them, Leo was digging a hole with a manic smile. Will didn’t want to know.

“Yeah,” was his first answer but he wilted under Jason’s skeptical gaze. “I mean… I don’t know. He has really talked to me since last night.”

“Did you have a fight?”

“No. Kinda? Not really. It was… It was weird. I don’t really know what is was. He thought I wanted to break up with him when I go back to the US.”

“What _are_ you guys doing after you go home?” Jason asked. “I mean, you’re going to med school and he still has another year.”

“I have no idea,” Will admitted. “I didn’t like to think about leaving so I didn’t give it any thought. But now it’s like I can’t _stop_ thinking about it.” He paused. “I thought about applying to a med school here.”

Jason blinked at him. “That’s a big move.”

“Yeah. But I don’t know if I could ask him to come to the USA with me.” He sighed and inched further into the water. He saw a figure under the water and yelled, “Don’t even think about it, McLean!” The figure retreated, a mess of bubbles rising up as if to say, “ _Killjoy.”_

“Anyways,” Will continued, “he loves it here and I’d feel like one of those asshole boyfriends if I asked him to make the big change in his life just to be with me, yanno?”

“What if he wanted to go?”

“What is he doesn’t?”

“So you’ll just pack up your life and move here?”

“If he asked me I probably wouldn’t say no.”

Jason blew out a sigh. “This sucks, man. I wish there was a way for all of us to be neighbors or something.”

“Yeah.” Will was up to his chest. He shivered as the icy water hit his shoulders. “Sh-shit! This is worse than New England water!”

Jason remained at waist level. “I think you guys need to talk about it,” he said, folding his arms over his chest protectively as he took a single step further. “It’s all about compromise and all that.”

Suddenly, from behind, Piper jumped out of the water and dunked Jason under the water with a victorious shout. Jason shot out like a startled cat and gasped. “PIPER!” he yelled. “I’m gonna kill you!”

“Gotta catch me first!” she laughed and swam away as Jason tried to do just that. She pointed at Will. “You’re next if you don’t get your sun child butt in!”

“I’m working on it!” he protested.

As Jason and Piper splashed each other aggressively and Percy cheered Piper on with whoops of, “Yeah! In the face! Get him in the face!” Will thought about Jason’s advice. He really did need to talk to Nico about what they were going to do. How did he even start that conversation without it turning into another one of those odd fights? Last night had left a worried pit in his stomach. He only knew he couldn’t bear to think about leaving Nico behind in a few weeks.

He stared up at the sky with a small frown. What was he going to do?

…

Around three o’clock, after they’d gotten their fill of failing to boogie-board and Hazel yelled that there were sandwiches, Will trudged back onto land, feeling a bit unstable after getting pushed around by waves and Piper for the better half of the day.

He ignored the now sizable hole Leo was burying himself in and strode up to his boyfriend, who know had about four little braids in his hair. He reached down and tugged lightly on one. “Should I call you Nicole now?”

“Shut up,” Nico said without looking at him. “It kept her quiet.”

“Uh-huh.” He was unconvinced. “They’re cute.”

Nico scoffed and shrugged away from Will’s touch. “You’re dripping water on my book. Go away.”

“I’ll leave you alone for one hug.”

“You’re soaking wet!”

“Exactly.”

“No deal.”

There was a moment of silence – Nico ignoring, Will plotting – then in a swift movement Will had swiped Nico’s book away and ran down the beach. Nico let out an indignant squawk and tore off after him, hat flying off his head. “Will!” he shouted. “Give that back!”

“One hug!” He glanced over his shoulder and cursed. Nico was gaining up on him much faster than he’d thought. He picked up the pace but it was only a matter of time. He used his next defense. Height. He held the book over his head. Even if Nico caught him, he wouldn’t be able to reach it.

However, Will underestimated his boyfriend’s strength. Nico caught up to him, grabbed his free arm and with a harsh _twist_ Will was on his knees, crying, “Ow, ow, ow! Uncle! _Uncle!”_

Nico huffed, snatched his book back, and started back towards his umbrella. Will chased after and scooped him up from behind into a tight hug. “AGH!” Nico arched his back away from the touch, feet kicking angrily. “You’re so cold! WILL!”

Will laughed and rubbed his wet hair on Nico’s jaw, doubling his boyfriend’s efforts to escape. “You spend too much time sitting around!” he said. “Come in the water with me or _something_.”

He could hear the gears working in Nico’s head. He stopped fighting and looked as if he was dealing with a business transaction. “After we eat,” he promised suddenly and Will agreed at once.

He put Nico down and caught his arm before he could stomp off. He waited until brown eyes were on his before saying, “You know I really do love you, right?” Nico’s eyes widened but he didn’t say anything so Will kept going. “I know you’re freaking out about what’s going to happen when I leave. Hell, _I’m_ freaking out about it, too. But I’m not _leaving_ leaving. You know that right? We’re going to figure this out.”

Nico’s face was unreadable but, when they walked back to the others, Nico raveled their fingers together and squeezed. Will smiled and swung their held hands between them.

…

After they’d eaten, Leo’s hole was level with his waist. Jason was the one to question it. “What are you doing?”

“Going to China,” was the answer.

Ten minutes later, Frank called over to him, “Seriously, Leo. What are you _doing?”_

“Buried treasure,” was the reply.

No one questioned him again.

Frank and Hazel decided to go down to the water and Percy managed to coax Annabeth along with him while Jason and Piper wordlessly pulled Leo out of his hole. “Let us bury you,” Piper pleaded and Leo was surprisingly quick to agree.

“Only if you give me a mer-tail,” he compromised. “And then you have to help me dig.”

Nico turned to Will with an almost shy look. “ _What do you want to do?”_ his eyes asked.

Will gestured down the beach. “Walk?”

He agreed and they stood up, brushing the sand off their hands onto their shorts, and held hands again as Will announced they were going seashell hunting. Leo signaled them a thumbs up as Piper and Jason dumped sand on his legs. “He wants a fish tail not an airplane wing,” Piper scolded Jason, who pouted at her.

“You mock my sand-sculpting skills?”

“Be safe!” Hazel called from the water.

Nico waved at her.

Percy wolf-whistled at them.

Nico flipped him off.

And then they were off.

It turned out that there weren’t many seashells or rocks along the beach. The sand was smooth and the water was still a clear blue despite the late hour. “So,” Nico started.

“So.”

“Should we… talk?”

“Now?”

“Is there a better time?”

“Touché. Let’s start with the facts.” Will paused for effect. “I don’t want to break up,” he asserted.

“Absolutely not,” Nico agreed.

“I’m going to med school in the fall. And you still have a year here.”

Nico watched the water roll over their feet. “What if… once I graduate…”

“What’s that?” Will bent down to hear him better.

“Once I graduate…”

“Once you graduate…?”

“What if I came to the States?”

An uncharacteristically large wave rolled into them, knocking Nico into Will’s side. Will’s arm automatically wrapped around him and it stayed there even after Nico had righted himself again. “You want to come to America?”

“I mean, like visiting!” Nico added quickly. “Like, while you finish med school I could get a visa and live in the US for a bit. Like how you did here.”

Will’s heart was beating fast in his chest. Was Nico really all right with that? Coming to the USA was a big deal. But, then again, it was only a temporary fix. He bit the inside of his cheek. “W-well… what if you moved there?”

Nico scrunched his eyebrows at him. “What do you mean? Move to America? With you?”

“Yeah.” Will’s mouth felt a bit dry. “You can keep applying for visas. I have a sponsorship so I get free rent and everything. You could stay with me.” He said ‘stay’ in a final sort of way. As in, ‘Let’s stay _together._ No more waiting around.’ The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. “We could do it, you now. We could live together.”

Nico’s expression scared him. It looked uncertain, withdrawn. “And leave Italy? My family is here, my friends – Bianca and Hazel and—”

“I’m not saying you’d have to give them up,” Will said. “I wouldn’t want you to cut them out of your life. Especially for me. We could visit. Spend the Holidays here or something. Look, I know it’s a lot to ask. But imagine it for a second? Could you see us living together?”

Nico was quiet for a long time. “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I don’t know. I need to think about it.”

Will nodded. It was something, at least. Nico hadn’t completely shot him out of the sky. It was only fair. “You could finish school here,” Will added. “I’d wait. And, uh, no matter what you decide, you know I’ll wait. We’d figure something else out. I just thought…” He let his statement go unfinished.

They walked in silence for a long time. Will could sense Nico sorting things out in his head. He hummed to himself in thought, shook his head when one of his thoughts didn’t work for him, and raised his eyebrows when one did. He was weighing the pros and cons, judging the difficulty of a move, and Will was a ball of nerves beside him.

At one point, Nico withdrew his hand from Will’s and his stomach fell. But Nico just bent down to pick something up. He dropped a little seashell in Will’s hand. “There you go,” he said and then went back to his thinking.

Will ran his thumb along the tiny shell, watching the colors reflect off the wet surface. It was really pretty, as far as seashells go, and Will carefully put it in his pocket. He wasn’t going to lose it. As he watched the waves crash behind Nico – his boyfriend’s face solemn in deep thought – Will decided he wasn’t going to lose him either.

They’d make it work. They had to.

…

“Oh my God,” Nico said when they got back to their spot.

“Sup?” Leo grinned at them. Only his head was visible. The rest of his body – a curvaceous feminine figure – was made of sand. Two small white cones were pressed onto the sand-chest.

“What are _those?”_ Nico asked.

“They’re supposed to be boobs,” Piper replied tiredly from her towel. “We couldn’t make the sand stay up and it was the best we could find.”

Leo caught Will staring and winked at him. Will quickly looked away.

“No, I mean, you guys got _snow cones?”_ Nico pointed at the cones again. “What the hell?”

“Yeah, where are ours?” Will huffed.

“Snooze you lose,” Leo said.

“Shut it, Ariel,” Nico snapped and turned to Hazel. “My own sister. Didn’t even save me a snow cone?”

“Sorry, Nico,” she said.

Nico turned to Will.  "I hate our friends."

Will laughed. “I’ll buy you a snow cone. C’mon.”

They found Percy and Annabeth at the snack bar, laughing about some joke Will didn’t understand, but they were talking a lot of selfies in front of the sign and looked pleased with themselves. “Did you get jipped out of snow cones, too?” Percy asked them. “Apparently they used ours to give Leo a boob job.”

“Idiot,” Nico said.

The four of them scored a picnic table nearby and ate their snow cones, talking. Nico seemed to lighten up. At least, he didn’t look as solemn as he had during their walk. When Nico caught his gaze and smiled briefly, Will knew he still had a lot of waiting to do. But that was fine. It would all be fine.

When they got back, the rest of their friends were lying around, too tired to function. The exception was Leo, who’d broken free of his sandy prison, and was shouting triumphantly as the tide came in and filled up his hole. “Free hot tub,” he announced and climbed in quickly. “Oh, shit, never mind. It’s still cold as hell.”

“You were trying to make a pool this whole time?” Frank asked him wearily.

“And it only took me seven hours.”

Frank groaned. “I’m tired just watching you.”

They left shortly after that. Packing up was a chore and it took a lot of negotiating to get Leo out of his hole again, but once they had rinsed off as much sand as they could and loaded up the cars it was smooth sailing. Will drove one of the cars on the way back with Nico in the front with him and Jason, Piper, and Leo in the backseat. Jason was in the middle with Piper and Leo both leaning on him. All three were fast asleep.

“Thank God,” Nico sniggered. “I can hear myself think again.”

Will laughed quietly, turning down the radio a little. His eyes flashed up to the other car. He could see Hazel behind the wheel with Frank, asleep, in the passenger seat. Percy and Annabeth were most likely out cold, too.

Will and Nico talked a little, mostly laughing at the stupid things their friends had done during the day, but neither of them spoke a word of their earlier conversation. Will was burning with the desire to know what Nico was going to choose, but Nico had to be the one to bring it up again. Will wouldn’t pressure him. Not on something as big as this.

“Hey, Nico, can you hand me my water?” he asked but didn’t receive an answer. He glanced at his boyfriend and smiled. Nico had fallen asleep with his face smushed into the seatbelt. Carefully, Will reached over and pulled the map from his open hands, resting it on his own lap instead. Then, he turned off the radio completely and enjoyed the quiet drive back.

Everything was going to work out. One way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC.


	10. 4148

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which mileage is not the only kind of distance one can experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned from a three month break bearing an update, a rating change, and a bit of angst.

“Message me as _soon_ as you land.”

“Will do.”

“Make sure you claim the right bag.”

“Mm hm.”

“And are you sure your brother is going to be there to pick you up?”

“Nico!” Will interjected with a strained laugh. “Seriously, don’t worry so much. You’re like an old man. Grampa Nico, that’s what I’m gonna call you from now on.”

Nico glared darkly at him, arms crossed, despite the sinking feeling in his chest. He knew his scowl was too flimsy, that his emotions were as transparent as the space between them. The space which would, too quickly, multiply by thousands of miles. The suitcases at Will’s feet and the bright yellow pillow wrapped around his neck were ugly reminders of Will’s departure. It was as if the objects were mocking him, flashing everything he’d been worried over since the weather grew warmer and warmer.

Will had on a serene smile, looking too relaxed for the situation. He was always good at keeping his composure. Nico, however, was a house of cards, ready to collapse with the slightest sudden breeze. His arms were itching to hold onto the American, but he didn’t move. He didn’t trust himself to.

“You know,” Will said calmly, “I’ve still got forty minutes before my flight even boards. Wanna grab a coffee? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

Nico nodded, swallowing down the lump in his throat, and mindlessly grabbing Will’s carry-on before following him to the coffee place just outside the airport. Will ordered for the both of them, handing over the last of his euros, while Nico glared at the tiled floor.

Once served, they sat down by the window. Their coffee steamed on the high table between them. Neither of them touched it.

“So,” Will started, sounding more nervous than before, which caught Nico’s attention. He looked up and Will looked away, drumming his fingers along his cardboard to-go cup. “You asked me a while ago if I had any plans for the future. For us.”

Nico’s hands dug into his jeans. _Now?_ Will wanted to have this conversation _now?_ Less than an hour before he left? Alarms immediately started going off in his head.

When Nico didn’t respond, Will took a deep breath and continued. “Okay, so, I’m graduating in a few days. You still have one more year here, right?”

Nico kept silent.

“Right,” Will answered himself. “But I’m starting med school in the fall. John Hopkins. Pretty fancy, eh?” He cleared his throat. “Anyways… I can’t exactly move anywhere until I’m done with school and legally certified to medical practice. But, I was thinking… um… America’s crime rate is insanely high. They could always use more forensic analysts. And, hey, how about that? You’re a forensic analyst!” His smile was becoming more and more strained. His eyes squinted as he tried not to lose his cool and failed horribly.

It hit Nico like a slap to the cheek. “You want me to move to America.” His voice sounded empty, grave, and it made Will wince.

“Temporarily?” he squeaked. “I know it’s not exactly fair to ask you to uproot your whole life just for me. And it’s no Venice. It’d be a crappy apartment and cheap dinners and long nights dealing with me studying until dawn.” He laughed humorlessly. “But, well, I wouldn’t get to move here until I graduate. And that just feels so far away.”

“You thought about moving here? You’d do that?”

“Of course,” Will said immediately, moving as if to touch Nico’s hands but drawing back. Nico wished he hadn’t. Will cupped his coffee instead and stared down at it with that kicked-puppy-pout of his. “I really would.”

“You just love the Italian winters,” Nico teased dryly.

“Not as much as I love you,” Will responded with such a warm look that Nico was rendered immobile. They’d said it before, many times, but somehow it felt stronger, more intimate, right then. Nico could tell that Will was being one-hundred percent honest with him. Will _loved_ him.

“I…” he trailed off, blinking rapidly. “America is… it’s so far. And with Hazel and Bianca. My father. I don’t… Immigration is…”

Will bit his lower lip. “You can say no,” he said. “It’s just an idea. I won’t give up if you say no.”

Nico desperately tried to meet Will’s gaze, but his boyfriend was adamantly observing the flimsy label on his coffee, trying to play off his disappointment. “I just… need to think,” Nico said finally. “I need to think about it.”

Will’s head shot up. “Of course,” he breathed out.

“And I need to talk to my family.”

“Right.”

Nico twisted the ring on his finger. He toyed with the idea of living with Will – actually living with him – with an apartment of their own and going out for sushi in between Will’s seminars and curling up together after a long day of work and study. He didn’t realize how badly he wanted that until Will just offered it all to him. Then he took that picture and placed it four-thousand miles away, in America. He wanted to throw something.

“It’s a lot to think about,” he nearly wheezed.

Will’s shoulders sank. “Take all the time you need,” he responded and, finally, reached over to hold onto Nico’s wrist.

…

Their goodbye was quick, like ripping off a Band-Aid, but it felt more like Nico had lost a limb. He had put his everything into that last hug, clinging onto Will tightly until he had to go. Nico watched him disappear into the gates, trying to match Will’s smile as he looked back, trying not to notice the tears in the other’s eyes.

Nico’s hand dropped and he stood there, feeling rather lost, until the board no longer showed Will’s flight number.

By the time he got back to his house, he felt absolutely terrible. He squeezed the house key between his fingers. He wandered into the kitchen even though he wasn’t hungry. He found Bianca there, mixing up one of her smoothies, and she turned to greet him. “Hey, lil bro, how was the airport?” Nico raised his head and Bianca immediately frowned. “That bad?”

Nico groaned and dropped his head to the counter. Bianca rubbed his back comfortingly. “Will ice cream help?” she asked.

“Yes, please,” he muttered into the granite.

Bianca patted his shoulder and moved to the freezer. She pulled out a gallon-size carton and two spoons from the drawer before dropping it beside Nico’s head. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Nico shook his head.

“You wanna talk?”

He pushed himself off of the carton and let out a long exhale. “He wants me to move to America with him,” he blurted out.

Bianca raised an eyebrow and offered him a spoon.

Nico took it and immediately jabbed it into the ice cream. “He just sprang it on me before he left. He wants me to come over there once I’m done with school while he finishes med school.”

Bianca hummed. “What do you want?”

“I… I don’t know!” He popped the spoon into his mouth before continuing. “I mean, the idea of living with him… I… it’s not bad. And that’s what’s scaring me. Because I think I might actually _want_ to…”

“But?”

“But. Moving to another country? It’s one thing to study there. Another to _live there.”_

Bianca sighed. “So what did you tell him?”

“That I’d think about it. He was really good with the whole thing. I think he expected me to reject him outright, honestly.”

“Can’t imagine why he’d think that,” Bianca replied sarcastically and Nico glared at her helplessly.

“What should I do?”

“What you want to do.”

“UGH!” He hid his face in the counter again. “You’re no help.”

“Sorry, Nico, but this is got to be something you decide on your own. It’s your life. I’d miss you like crazy if you move, but, at the same time, if it’s going to make you happy… if you think Will really is it… then I think you should do it.”

Nico was quiet for a long time before he let out a rather pathetic, “I miss him.”

Bianca said nothing, but she draped an arm over his shoulder and squeezed him tightly even as the ice cream began to melt.

…

Nico agonized for no less than three weeks. He had lists of pros and cons. He had a pro and con list about the use of pros and cons. He had about a dozen US immigration tabs bookmarked on his browser. He googled random facts about America until late into the night and surfed through the pictures of Will and him together until the first beams of daylight peered through his window.

He carefully avoided the topic whenever he talked to Will, which was often. He had forgotten how hard the distance was, especially after almost eight months of constant contact. They talked about their days, funny things that had happened to them. Will’s first year of med school was already straining on him before it began. After passing the entrance exams, Will had been utterly wiped out but he had no chance to recoup. He was working himself to the breaking point again. Nico hated seeing the bags under his eyes whenever they video-chatted. Will always commented that he looked just as bad.

Still, Will always smiled, always said he loved him, always kept his promises to message him. And he never pressured Nico into giving an answer. Though, there was an underlying tension between them each time they talked through webcams that hadn’t existed before.

Things were getting serious and it was scaring both of them. Nico was struggling to make up his mind. Some days he woke up missing not only Will but all of his American friends and it was hard not to call Will and accept on the spot. Some days he woke up and saw his sisters and couldn’t imagine leaving at all.

His thoughts circulated like driftwood lost at sea, bobbing up and down but staying in the same exact place. Summer was too long, the world was too big, and Nico’s head was too small to conclude anything.

One late August night, Nico found himself lying on his bed, scrolling through his Facebook feed. Will had just moved into his new apartment, readying for his first year of med school. The whole gang was having a house-warming party for him, driving up to Baltimore as one last hurrah before adult lives began. Will had tagged him in everything, all the group pictures, with the caption, _“Eating Italian tonight! Miss you!”_

Nico dropped his head to the keyboard and accidentally commented, _“ASFVLKCNXMFDDD.”_

It received likes from Will, Percy, and Piper.

“Nico, I’m going to work!” Bianca called from the bottom of the stairs. “Call Dad!”

“No,” he answered in lieu of a goodbye.

Circles. His head was going in circles.

…

Around midnight, he got a video call from Will. He grimaced; it was late, he’d been sleeping, and he was much too depressed to see Will bright and happy in his new home. Regardless, he reached over to flick on his bedside lamp and answered.  “Tired,” he greeted.

 _“Hello to you, too,”_ Will laughed, voice distantly static. He was beaming weirdly and swaying in his seat, spinning around in little half circles as he did so.

“Oh God,” Nico muttered. “You’re drunk.”

 _“Totally Leo’s fault!”_ Will defended, pointing angrily behind him. _“He bummed me out.”_

“Bummed you out?”

 _“Yeah.”_ Will did a full circle in his chair. _“We were talking, you know? About you. And me. And he said stuff.”_

Nico frowned. “What did he say?”

Will stopped spinning and held onto the sides of his desk to balance himself. _“Whoa,”_ he muttered, blinking rapidly. _“Are you spinning?”_

“Will,” Nico said seriously, “what did Leo say?”

Will groaned like the memory was physically tiring. “ _He went on and on about how… how you weren’t gonna wanna move here and that I needed to, like, focus on what’s important and the whole ‘If you love them let them go’ thing and I just…”_ Will rested his head on his cheek, eyes falling. _“I felt_ bad.”

Nico kept his face neutral despite the little crack he felt niche his heart. “Will.”

 _“How do you feel?”_ Will asked suddenly then scrunched up his face like he remembered something. _“Oh no. Hazel told me not to ask you that. Ah, shit.”_

“Hazel? You’ve been talking to Hazel?” Nico would have to message his sister later. “And why did she say not to ask me how I am? What sort of things are you talking about?”

 _“Advice,”_ Will waved his hands uselessly, _“for the long distance thing. If you say no. If you say yes. Which you don’t have to do. I’m not a politician.”_

“What?”

 _“You know, like, trying to sway your vote? Whatever you chose.”_ Will laughed humorlessly before running his hands down his face. _“Beer is so gross.”_

“You shouldn’t have drunk,” Nico scolded him but it was empty. “And, to answer your earlier question, I feel bad, too.”

Will pouted deeply. _“Nooo,”_ he whined.

“Because I don’t have an answer yet. I don’t know what to tell you and I feel really bad.”

Will blew out a sigh. _“You don’t have to feel bad. Maybe it was a dumb idea.”_

“Not dumb,” Nico said. “Just… a lot.” Will peered up at him hopefully, honestly. Nico missed him a lot. He had a feeling he had made his decision, but he wasn’t going to tell Will when he was still swaying in his seat. “You should go to sleep, Will. I’ll talk to you in the morning.”

 _“Kay,”_ Will said but made no move towards his mouse. Instead, he just looked at Nico.

“What?” Nico asked when Will didn’t look away.

Will just gave a half-hearted shrug.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Will opened his mouth to answer then, Nico wasn’t sure if it was something wrong with his camera, Will turned a nasty shade of green. He covered his mouth with one hand and shivered uncomfortably. _“Oh, fuck,”_ he choked out and ducked out of view with a horrible retching noise.

Nico covered his face with his hands.

It was going to be a long night.

…

Sometime around three in the afternoon, he received a message.

**_nvr drinking again oh my g o d_ **

Nico smirked and abandoned his chemistry notes to answer.

**I didn’t know the dead could communicate via Internet.**

It didn’t take long for Will to answer.

**_Har-har. btw did we skype last night???_ **

**Yep. It was pretty enlightening, I got to say.  
**

**_Oh no_ **

**Oh yes.**

**_I hoped it was a dream shit im sorry_ **

Nico glanced up at the sound of his professor pausing in mid-lecture to clear her throat. She hadn’t noticed Nico’s blatant distraction yet.

**It’s fine. But seriously how are you feeling?**

**_Not so bad now. More embarrassed than anything else_ **

**From throwing up on camera in front of your boyfriend?**

**_I h9 you_ **

Nico sent about five kissy emoticons before his professor finally caught on. “Phones away,” she reminded tersely and Nico muttered back an apology before shoving his phone in his hoodie pocket.

He got out of class about a half hour later and ducked into the school-run café in front of the library floor. After buying a muffin and a latte, he plopped down in a comfy chair and checked his phone again to find several messages from Will.

**_Ur the actual worst_ **

**_But yea seriously lets just forget last night?? I was drunk and I really didn’t know what I was saying so.. yep._ **

Nico wasn’t sure how to respond. He knew what answer he was going to give, but the words wouldn’t come together. It felt wrong to say it over text, but he also wanted to say it as soon as possible to put an end to the tenseness that had been hanging over them for the last several weeks.

**Can you skype tonight? Alcohol-free this time?**

Will sent him a grumpy emoticon and then –

**_Alright what time is good for you?_ **

Nico munched on his muffin as he replied, foot tapping against the floor impatiently. When Will left the conversation to go to class, Nico felt a lurch of excitement. He couldn’t wait to see Will’s face when he gave his answer.

…

When Will called, Nico had just gotten out of the shower. He propelled himself out of the bathroom when he heard the familiar ringtone blaring from his laptop. He passed Bianca in his rush, dressed in only a pair of shorts, and nearly knocked a mug out of her hands. “Sorry, Bi,” he called.

“Somehow I doubt that,” she muttered before Nico shut his bedroom door.

He accepted the call and hunted for a shirt and suitable pants. It was definitely nothing Will hadn’t seen before, and it was tempting to toy with him just a bit, but he didn’t want any distractions. Tonight was going to be, for once, serious. As it happened, it hadn’t really mattered because Will’s video feed wouldn’t load.

 _“N-co?”_ Will’s voice, broken by static, cracked through his speakers.

“Will,” he said a bit louder than usual. “Can you hear me?”

 _“Barely,”_ Will answered. _“I can’t see you eith… me?”_

“What?” Nico glared at his screen and checked his internet connection. It seemed to be fine. “What did you say?”

_“Can you see me?”_

“No.” He sighed. “This figures.”

_“Should I try calling back? Or maybe you should call me?”_

“It’s fine, I guess,” Nico said. “I really need to talk to you.”

There was a long beat of silence that Nico knew had little to do with bad internet connection. _“Okay,”_ Will’s voice was small, nervous. _“Sure, yeah, what’s up?”_

Nico bit his lower lip. “I’ve been thinking a lot – a _lot_ – about what you said at the airport. You know. Moving to America.”

Will hummed noncommittally.

“Well, I, uh… It was a lot to process and I went back and forth for weeks. On the one hand, I’d be leaving my _home_. My family, my friends, everything. On the other, I’d be going somewhere where I could see you every day. Not to mention the TV really is better in the US.”

Will gave a weak chuckle. _“Good to see where_ your _priorities lie.”_

Nico smiled. “I know things have been weird ever since you left, and I’m sorry for making you wait for so long but I... I had to be _sure,_ you know?”

 _“Yes,”_ Will said quickly, _“of course. I completely understand.”_

“Right. So, yeah, I’ve sorta made my decision.” He took a little breath. “I want to move to America with you.”

There was another abnormally long silence. _“What?”_ Will’s voice sounded far away again. _“Sorry… hard to hear again. What’d you say?”_

“I said I would do it! Yes!” Nico said louder.

_“Huh? I can’t hear you!”_

"I said-"

_"Speak up!"_

“Oh for…!” Nico threw up his hands in frustration then took in a long, deep breath. “YES! I WANT TO MOVE IN WITH YOU! TO AMERICA! YES!”

A brief moment passed, Nico could hear the hum of his laptop, could hear his sister shuffling around in her room, could hear Will breathing over four-thousand miles away, and then Will said softly, with a smile in his voice, _“I heard you the first time. I just wanted to hear you say it again.”_

Nico broke into a smile. “You loser.”

Will erupted into laughter. _“Oh my God,”_ he gasped out. _“I can’t believe you actually said yes! I was so sure… I mean, I would have worked it out if you’d said no but I wanted you to say yes_ so badly.”

“I know,” Nico said. “That you would’ve been okay with it if I said no, I mean. Thank you.”

 _“I love you so much!”_ Will’s voice was thicker than usual and, damn it, if he was going to get emotional then Nico was doomed.

“I love you, too, you goof,” Nico said. “Just remember that when you have to deal with me all the time. Twenty-four, seven.  Bad habits and all.”

 _“God, I can’t wait,”_ Will breathed. _“I cannot_ wait! _I have to go tell someone. I’m gonna shout it from my window.”_

“No, you’re not.”

_“Yeah, I am. Holy shit. Be right back!”_

“WILL!” Nico shouted, sternness falling second to the insurmountable joy billowing through him. He sat there, laughing and listening as Will most definitely called down to strangers on the street and knew, just from the sheer happiness in his boyfriend’s voice, that he was making the right decision.

Nine months to go until he could shout that out to strangers on the street himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy One Year Anniversary to this silly story of mine! (It's been a year already, what is this?) ;A; And a big thank you to everyone for the tons of support and love whether you started reading during that mad rush of Solangelo in October 2014 or even just two minutes ago. It seriously means so much to see how happy you guys are that these dorks are happy. Hopefully, it doesn't take me another whole year to finish this off! (Crosses fingers) Thank you again!
> 
> Also, there are 4,418 miles from New York City to Venice.
> 
> tumblr; [ghostystarr](http://ghostystarr.tumblr.com)
> 
> TBC.


	11. Dark Little Cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author apologizes.

Will was seriously questioning his mental state at the moment. His face was planted firmly in his anatomy book, making what Cecil would call his ‘dying cicada noises’. A thousand terms were bouncing back and forth in his head, getting tangled up and fuzzy in his memory. “Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccygeal,” he muttered as he lightly hid his head against the pages, as if trying to stamp the words directly into his brain. “Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccygeal…”

If only he wasn’t so dyslexic then maybe memorizing the correct order of basic spinal anatomy wouldn’t be as big of a pain in his medial temporal lobe.

With a tired groan he peeled himself off his text book and blinked the sleep out of his eyes. He still had a lot to do – papers to write and selections to read and muscles to learn – but he was finding it hard to care about school at all anymore. His hand found his cellphone mechanically and he was looking at his inbox before he realized he’d moved at all.

Nothing.

Will traded his phone for his pencil and used it to point at the print-out of a human skeleton he had taped to the corkboard above his desk. “Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccygeal,” he recited and made a little whip noise. _Nailed it._

He collapsed into his chair, balancing on the back two legs, and stared blankly at the ceiling fan as it twirled lazily. “Nine months,” he muttered to empty air. He hadn’t expected a response of any sort, which was exactly why he toppled over in his chair with a cry when his bedroom light suddenly came on.

“What are you doing?” his roommate, Cecil, asked with a perplexed frown, finger still on the switch.

“Studying,” Will wheezed at him as he remained on the ground. When he sat up, his back gave a nasty crack and he winced. “Ow, ow, ow, that’s my thoracic vertebrae,” he muttered then looked at his books in thought. “Or is it my lumbar?”

“Uh, say, Will, what day is it?”

“Sunday,” Will answered as he pulled himself up. “Why?”

Cecil winced. “Oh, you know… because it’s Monday.”

Will placed his hands on his lower back and stretched. “What? No, it’s definitely Sunday.”

Cecil shook his head. “I just got back from bio chem . It’s Monday.”

Panic surged in his gut and he rushed to grab his phone. He let out another high-pitched noise as he saw the date and time.

Cecil hissed, covering his ears. _“How_ do you do that?”

“Shit, shit, shit!” Will chanted as he ran around his room, grabbing his bag and books and shoes and whatever else his hand found. “I’m late to anatomy!”

“More like you missed anatomy,” Cecil interjected with an apologetic grin. “You poor bastard.”

“Argh!” Will covered his face with his hands and let himself fall onto his bed. “It’s not funny. I’m gonna fall behind!”

“Look, Will, it’s just one class. It’s not going to kill you. Oi, are you listening to me?” Cecil started to flicker the lights off and on aggressively. “Will!”

Will grunted.

“Lou’s in that class, isn’t she? Just have her bring you the notes and email your prof that you were sick and overslept. On that note, you _should_ sleep. And eat. And maybe shower.”

“Can’t sleep, not tired,” Will muttered.

“Uh-huh.” Cecil eyed him doubtfully. “When was the last time you fell asleep?”

“What day is it?”

“Pretty sure we just established that it’s most definitely Monday.”

“Then, like, forty-some hours.”

“Yeah, okay, Mr. Medical Prodigy,” Cecil snorted, “even I know that’s not healthy. Go to bed.”

“I _am_ in bed.”

“Good _night_ , Will.”

Will was already fast asleep.

.

When he woke, it was dark, his phone was still a social barren wasteland, and his sleep schedule had gone to shit. He stared at the little plant in his window, at its brittle leaves and withered petals, and stood up to get some water.

His apartment was quiet, but he could see lights slipping through the cracks of Cecil’s door and the sound of his roommate’s laptop whirring away in the night. Nevertheless, he padded quietly into the kitchen, tiptoeing over the mess that belonged in graduate students’ flats. The tile floor was cold beneath his feet so he did a little hop to the sink and reached for a plastic cup with Spiderman printed on it. The clock on the oven read that it was shortly after ten o’clock at night. He slept for almost twelve hours.

He rubbed his cheek, feeling the stubble, and wondered when the last time he shaved was. The water started running over the top of the cup. He cursed, turning off the water and spinning around to grab a towel. He spotted a little sticky note stuck to the fridge.

_Leftover chicken and rice in the fridge. Microwave before eating. That’s the little box on your right._

_– C_

How someone could simultaneously be so kindhearted and an absolute _dick_ at the same time was beyond him. But, Cecil had been his best friend for years and he wouldn’t have it any other way. They’d been roommates all through their undergrad years and straight up to the present. That would be ending soon, he supposed, when Nico came to America.

An excited swoop followed by an anxious lurch ripped through his chest.

It had been six days since Nico last messaged Will.

It wasn’t entirely Nico’s fault. Will knew he was going on vacation with his family, and he knew it was going to last a week, and he knew that Nico’s phone had become acquainted with the ocean on the very first day.

It wouldn’t be so terrible if it hadn’t been for the fact that they’d been fighting moments before Nico ‘accidentally’ chucked his phone into the water. A text from Hazel later confirmed that, yes, Nico’s phone was currently floating in the Mediterranean, and, yes, Nico was still pissed.

He reached up and took down Cecil’s note, only to reveal another one – pink this time – underneath.

_Stop moping and eat something, nerd._

_– Love, Lou_

Will ripped that one down, too. He found a clean piece of paper and a pencil and wrote a quip back.

_I can mope and eat my chicken, too, thank you very much. And Cecil, your face is a little box on your right._

_P.S. thank you_

_\- Will_

Will stuck the note on the fridge before opening it and pulling out an aluminum-wrapped plate and fixing it up. He set the microwave timer and walked back to his room to dump his water on his poor plant. “Sorry, little guy,” he muttered. “I can’t really seem to get anything right lately, huh?”

The plant soaked up the water, but Will imagined how much better it would be if it was planted outside, free of its pot and able to spread its roots to catch all the rainwater it could ever want. Trapped in here, in his dreary room, was killing it.

He scratched at his cheek again.

Lost in thought, it wasn’t until a burning smell wafted into his room that he realized that he forgot to remove the aluminum.

“WILL, ARE YOU SERIOUS?” Cecil shouted from his room as the fire alarm went off.

.

After explaining to the fire department what happened, and receiving many glares from his roommate as he escorted the firemen out, Will tried to sneak back into his room when Cecil slammed the door shut. “Sit,” he ordered, pointing at the couch, so Will sat. Cecil crossed his arms. “Talk.”

Will raised his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’ll buy another microwave tomorrow.”

“Will, I don’t care about the microwave.”

“You don’t?”

“Oh, no, I do, but if you’re going to mope about that, too, then I need to start hiding all my shit.” Cecil huffed. “Look, when you get upset there’s like a little dark cloud that hangs over your head. It’s damn depressing to watch. Something’s obviously bothering you so what is it? Did you fail a test?”

Will pouted. “No.”

“Did your dad get a new girlfriend or something?”

“Probably. But that’s irrelevant.”

Cecil softened at the joke. “All right. Then is there something up with Nico?”

Will winced.

“Ah. The power couple _does_ have issues. You know, that’s slightly relieving. It was scary how perfect you two were.”

Will chuckled dryly. “We’re definitely not perfect. We fight a _lot.”_

“Distance ain’t making the heart grow fonder?” Cecil sat down in the armchair across from him. “Or are you having second thoughts?”

“No!” Will exclaimed too quickly. He sank into the cushions and tried again. “No. I’m totally, one-hundred percent in it. I still want him to come here and I wanna live with him and all of that sappy stuff. But, I failed to mention one thing and now he’s really super pissed at me.”

“What? That you wet the bed? That you’re actually a runaway convict? Oh, oh, oh! Or that you sometimes _blow up your roommate’s shit?”_ Cecil snorted. “C’mon, man, you don’t have secrets. You once got so excited for Lou Ellen’s surprise birthday party that you texted her – three weeks in advance – not to plan anything for her birthday.”

Will bit his lower lip. “I lied to my parents about why I went to Italy.”

There was a beat of silence where Will twiddled his thumbs and Cecil tilted his head in confusion. “Come again?”

“I told my mom it was because I’ve been studying the language and wanted to experience the culture, and I told my dad it was because I wanted to experience Italian girls on mopeds.” He hid his face. “They don’t know I’m dating Nico.”

Cecil shook his head. “But… I mean, they have to know. Your profile pic on Facebook is the two of you.”

“Dad doesn’t do Facebook. He thinks it’s out of style now. My mom never had one.”

“But, your phone background? The letters. The fact that he’s moving countries to live with you?”

Will ran a hand down his face. “They don’t know any of it, Cecil. Nico asked why I never talk about them much and I said it was complicated. Then somehow it turned into him wanting to meet them because he felt weird living in a place paid for by them without ever knowing them and he kept asking all these questions and so it just slipped out that I’ve never told them I was dating him. Then he threw his phone into the sea.”

“So… why can’t you tell them?”

Will groaned. “It’s complicated,” he repeated.

“Yeah, kinda like your relationship status.” Cecil leaned back.

“They hate each other.” Will shook his head at Cecil’s skeptical expression. “No, I mean, they seriously hate each other. I don’t think my dad would care so much because, well, it’s my _Dad_ , but my mom keeps dropping these little hints about finding a smart girl in school and grandkids and just, _ugh.”_

“And you explained this to Nico?”

“Yeah, and I’m sure the fish in the Mediterranean _really_ sympathized with me.” Will slumped over on the couch, face pressed into the cushions. “What should I do?”

“Unless you want your relationship’s song to be _Dirty Little Secret_ then I think you should tell them.” Cecil rolled his eyes at Will’s groan. “Look, you’re serious about Nico, right?”

“Right.”

“And you have your heart set on living with him?”

“I’d go to Italy if it made him happier,” Will resolved.

Cecil actually smiled. “Then your parents should know that. Like you said, your dad will be your dad. He’ll probably say something like, ‘called it’ or ‘no, seriously, what’s the news?’ And your mom will… yeah, she’ll be shocked but she’s not gonna _shun_ you or anything. I think.”

“You think? Oh, thanks for the great score of confidence,” Will mumbled into the polyester.

“Nico told his parents. Time for you to balls up and do the same, bro.”

Will sighed. “I know, I know. My dad probably wouldn’t even bother coming around if I asked him to, though.”

Cecil hummed and, when Will raised his head, there was a dark smirk on his roommate’s face. “So, you’re saying if we can get your dad here you’ll tell him?”

“It’s impossible.”

“We’ll see about that.”

.

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!_

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Will cried as he stumbled through his dim living room in his pajamas and rubbing his eyes sleepily. He’d been rudely awakened by a continuous, rapid stream of eager knocks at the ungodly hour of seven in the morning on a Saturday. In hindsight, he should have guessed who was at his door.

“Dad?” Will blinked against the morning light several times. His father, Apollo, was always up at the ass crack of dawn – bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and annoying as hell.

“William!” His father pulled him into a one-armed hug. “Ah, you look like you could use more melanin. Aren’t you using that tanning salon membership I got you?”

“Aha,” Will shirked away from the embrace, “I-I really haven’t had the time, but, uh, what are you doing here?”

“Your roomie called me the other day!” He pushed past Will and let himself into the apartment, eyes peering over the top of his Ray-Ban sunglasses. “The one who set his eyebrows on fire making macaroni and cheese. He said you had some big news.”

Will’s smile tensed. “ _Did_ he?”

“Mm hm,” Apollo hummed as he opened the fridge and peered at the contents. “What, not even a wine cooler?”

“Dad, it’s seven-thirty in the morning.”

“And you’re a twenty year old student.”

“I’m twenty-two.”

“Really?” Apollo raised an eyebrow. “Now, I’m even more disappointed. You’re overage. You don’t have to hide anything anymore.”

“I don’t drink.” Will shrugged.

“Yeah,” Apollo chuckled, “sure, kiddo.”

“What’s going on?” Cecil walked into the kitchen, rubbing his face sleepily.

“Who’s this?” Apollo leaned against the counter.

“Dad, that’s Cecil.”

Apollo stared blankly at him.

“My roommate.”

Nothing.

Cecil groaned. “I’m the one who burned his eyebrows—”

“Ah, of course, Cecil! I didn’t recognize you with eyebrows!” Apollo extended a hand. “How are you, kid?”

“Fine, sir.” Cecil noticed Will’s dark look and brightened immediately as he shook Apollo’s hand. “Will’s very excited to tell you something.”

“The big news!” Apollo snapped his fingers. “I’m all ears.”

Cecil gave him an ‘it’ll be fine’ look and a thumb’s up before walking to fix himself a bowl of cereal. Will wrung his hands together nervously. “Okay, so, uh, Dad… you know how I went abroad last year?”

“Ah, yes. France. The land of love!”

“Italy,” he corrected. “I went Italy.”

“Are you sure?” Apollo blinked. “Then who did I go visit?” Will stared blankly at him, waiting. Apollo laughed. “I’m just kidding! But, speaking of Italy, how’s that friend of yours? Chico.”

“Nico.”

“Right.”

“Would you like some Cheerios, Mr. Solace?” Cecil asked when Will froze up and didn’t say anything.

“No, thank you, kid. Bees freak me out.”

Cecil hugged the box of Cheerios like someone had just insulted a family member, and Will hurried to salvage the conversation. “Right, Dad…”

Apollo looked at him expectantly.

Then, it all came flowing out at once. “Nico is going to move to America. With me. As in together. Dating. Together.” He clasped his hands together. “Like _that.”_

Apollo hummed. “I suppose that sounds like the right next step.”

“Huh?”

“Moving in together.   It’s a big move, but I think you’ll do fine.”

“No, wait…” Will ran a hand down his face. “Nico. I’m dating Nico.”

“Yes.”

“Him.”

Apollo smiled in confusion. “Yes, I know.”

Will’s shoulders slumped. “You mean you _knew?”_

“Of course I knew! Who do you think I am?” Apollo grinned and glanced at Cecil. “Is this why you invited me up here, Cereal?”

_“Cecil!”_

“Does _Mom_ know?” Will called.

“Of course your mother knows. Nothing escapes _that_ bloodhound.” Apollo started looking through his cupboards. “Quite frankly, what is more of a shock to me is that two twenty-something graduate students live like they’re hosting a damn Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Really? Nothing?”

“Will drank it all,” Cecil said with a smirk and Will shot him a glare, but Apollo didn’t seem to have heard.

He removed his sunglasses and pocketed them, revealing his bright blue eyes. “Now, what was that big news you wanted to tell me, William?”

Cecil was watching Apollo like he was an alien and Will threw his hands up. “I give up.”

.

He had to lie down after being exposed to his father’s madness for longer than ten minutes and come to terms with the fact that he was in some serious shit with his boyfriend for what was apparently no reason at all. They knew. Both of them and they hadn’t said anything. Will’s head hurt.

He rolled onto his side and pulled his laptop closer to himself, opening it up and mechanically checking his Skype. Will’s heart might have just stopped altogether when he saw Nico was online. Tentatively, he sent an well thought-out, eloquent message.

**:(**

It didn’t take long for him to receive a response. **_Is that all you have to say?_**

Will winced. **I told my dad. About us and everything.**

**_And?_ **

**Turns out he already knew… my mom knows too. Guess im not as clever as i think.**

Nico’s reply was as biting as ever. **_Just out of curiosity… how clever did you think you ever were?_**

**WOW… anyway**

**Im really rEALLY sorry, Nico. I know I shouldve told them like forever ago i just… i didnt want anything to mess this up, i guess**

To Will’s immense, and reviving, surprise, Nico was calling him to videochat. He answered immediately with a sheepish, cautious smile on his face. Nico was looking grumpy, but not overly so. “Hi,” he started.

Nico’s mouth twitched into a frown and Will knew he wasn’t off the hook yet. _“I am still very angry with you,”_ he promised. The video feed didn’t quite match the audio and Will found himself staring at Nico’s lips form words that had already been said. _“You could’ve just_ told _me that.”_

“I know,” Will said. “I know I messed up. I’m an idiot. Total tool. Complete dickbag.”

Nico’s shoulders relaxed. _“You missed giant asshat.”_

“I am _two_ of those.”

Nico breathed out a shallow laugh. He ran a hand through his hair, but the video froze momentarily and the next moment Nico was holding a mug to his lips to hide a reluctant smile. _“So… you told them?”_

“Yes,” Will said instantly. “Or, well, they know now, at least.”

_“…And everything is… all right?”_

Will thought of his lack of sleep, his lack of motivation to study, the thousands of miles full of distractions between them, and thought, _no,_ everything was not all right. “It will be,” he said instead. “They want to meet you.”

Nico looked equal parts nervous and relieved. _“Should I be worried?”_

“Nah, you’ll do fine. My mom might be a bit awkward, but she won’t bite. My dad is a different story.” Will frowned. “He actually might bite you.”

Nico laughed, confused and wary, but the sound made Will feel like he’d just come up from underwater and breathed new air.

“William!” Apollo’s voice carried from the kitchen. “Do you have any ice trays? I’m making charred orange margaritas!”

Nico raised his head. _“Who was that?”_

“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Will proclaimed then called over his shoulder, “No margaritas! It’s morning. Drink _milk_ like a normal human!”

Apollo poked his head into Will’s room before noticing he was on Skype and waltz in, dressed like he was about to go to the beach despite the fact that it was fall and they were in New York City. “Who’s that?”

 _“That_ is my boyfriend,” Will said with a twinge of uneasiness and heaps of pride.

“Ah!” Apollo put his face far too close to the camera for it to possibly be comfortable for Nico, who shrunk back with wide eyes. “So this is Chico!”

“Nico.”

“Right! Tell me, Nico, what’s France like these days?”

Nico looked at Will like he had suddenly forgotten how to speak a word of English.

Will grinned. “Nico, this is my dad. And, yes, he is always like this.”

“What time is it over there, Nico?”

 _“Er,”_ Nico tilted his head in confusion. _“About five o’clock?”_

Apollo clasped his hands together while Will groaned. “Ah, the age-old wisdom of Alan Jackson has once again never failed me! I’ll go get the ice.” Apollo pointed approvingly at Nico, threw a victorious glance at his son, and then ambled back out of Will’s room as he sang _It’s Five O’ Clock Somewhere_.

Will turned back to Nico smugly. “Still wanna meet my parents?”

Nico’s smile was sturdier than Will had felt for days. _“It’s what people do, don’t they?”_

And Will found that he could study much more efficiently with Nico quizzing and coaching him throughout their hectic schedule, repeating and memorizing and making up little raps and jokes to jog his memory.

Two weeks later, when Will took his anatomy exam, he noticed a particular question and grinned as he wrote the answer, unwaveringly.

_Cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral, coccygeal…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, um, this is my official apology for a few things. 1) I'm so sorry for the confusion about where Chapter 11 went. AO3 went down as it was uploading and things got weird and I couldn't go into the edit page at all. Then with finals and moving I didn't have time to check up on it. 2) Sorry for how blatantly, underwhelming-ly lame this chapter is. People wanted to see Apollo so here he is, just in time for Trials of Apollo! ;w; The next chapter is almost finished and it's a doozy so AY.
> 
> also solangelo is canon. it's true. hold my hand, bro, just hold it.
> 
> tumblr; [ghostystarr](http://ghostystarr.tumblr.com)


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